Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made any recent assessment of the adequacy of support available to the children of parents with no recourse to public funds.

Leave to remain in the UK is normally granted with a condition that prevents the person and their dependants from receiving welfare assistance from public funds. However, where the person qualifies for leave to remain on grounds related to their family or private life the condition is lifted if they or they or their dependent children would otherwise be destitute.

In addition, children with no recourse to public funds are not precluded from support from a local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Assessment of the level of support needed is built into these provisions and will vary according to circumstances. The level of support provided under section 17 depends on the local authority’s assessment of the child’s needs.