Over 2.6 million people are locked out of the welfare state in the UK and now subject to ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF), an immigration policy restricting access to social security. How can local government respond?
How can local government improve the safety net for vulnerable people locked out of the welfare system due to their immigration status?
The number of people locked out of the welfare state in the UK has risen to 2.6 million people now subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) policy, an immigration policy restricting access to social security. Local government have been described as providing a "parallel welfare system" (Price & Spencer, 2015) and a "basic safety net of support" (UK Minister for Legal Migration & the Border, 2024) for vulnerable people facing destitution, regardless of their immigration status. However recent research highlights the limitations of this parallel safety net which fails to meet the rising demand and the needs of vulnerable people as local authorities find themselves operating on overstretched social care budgets and without any dedicated funding from central government to cover this provision. Despite repeated calls from the third sector, local government and cross-party parliamentarians to review the NRPF policy for vulnerable people and families, none of the major political parties appear to call for a reform of the policy.
If local government are expected to play a vital role in supporting destitute vulnerable people, what needs to change to ensure local authorities provide better support? How can authorities address wider strategic priorities such as ending rough sleeping, improving public health and tackling local inequalities?
In this episode of The Migration Oxford Podcast, we welcome Rupinder Parhar, Head of Equalities at the Greater London Authority, Ann, a community researcher and a member of COMPAS' Experts by Experience Advisory Board and Lucy Leon, a researcher at the Global Exchange on Migration and Diversity at COMPAS. Together, we explore the needs and characteristics of this vulnerable population locked out of the welfare system, the variations in support provided by local government across the UK and what needs to change to ensure vulnerable people facing destitution are provided with support, regardless of their immigration status.
Guests: Rupinder Parhar, Ann, Lucy Leon
Hosts: Rob McNeil and Jacqui Broadhead
Producer and Communications: Delphine Boagey
