Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward emergency legislative proposals to ensure people who have no recourse to public funds and who require homelessness assistance can access emergency accommodation for the next 12 months.

The rules as to eligibility relating to immigration status, including for those with NRPF, have not changed.

Local authorities must use their judgement in assessing what support they may lawfully give to each person on an individual basis, considering that person’s specific circumstances and support needs.

Local authorities already regularly make such judgements on accommodating individuals who might otherwise be ineligible, during extreme weather for example.

We want to ensure that local areas have the tools they need to support as many people as possible off the street as possible. That is why we have established programmes such as the Next Steps Accommodation Programme and the Home Office’s Rough Sleeping Support Service.

More information on the support available to migrants during the pandemic, including those with NRPF, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk