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Written Question
Migrants: Domestic Abuse
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing migrant victims of domestic abuse to access support from (a) police and (b) statutory services.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

Victims are entitled to access services under the Victims Code regardless of their resident status, including support services. They are rightly able to access statutory services irrespective of their immigration status and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. As an example, the statutory guidance for the Duty to Provide Safe Accommodation under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act is clear that this provision is for all victims of domestic abuse, including migrant survivors with insecure immigration status.

The government has kept the range of support under review and have made recent changes.

We allocated up to £5.6 million from April 2021 until March 2025 for the Support for Migrant Victim Scheme, which provides a support net for migrant victims of abuse with no recourse to public funds. And we have expanded access to the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) to partners of workers or students, giving 3 months recourse to public funds whilst they potentially apply for an appropriate immigration status or return to their country of origin if it is safe for them to do so.


Written Question
Crimes of Violence: Victims
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to introduce a strategy to fund specialist services to support victims of violence that are (a) disabled, (b) an ethnic minority, (c) a religious minority, (d) identify as being LGBTQIA+ and (e) with no recourse to public funds.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice have committed to a joint 'by and for' fund for services across England and Wales. The fund is providing £5.9m to organisations supporting marginalised groups affected by violence against women and girls (VAWG) over two years to March 2025. This includes organisations supporting victims from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled victims, and LGBT victims. ‘By and for’ services are specialist services that are led, designed, and delivered by and for the users and communities they aim to serve.

Additionally, Police and Crime Commissioners receive annual grant funding to commission local victim services, including specialist 'by and for' services, based on an assessment of local needs.


Written Question
Immigration: ICT
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 25 November 2022 to Question 93420, 1 December 2022 to Question 97406 and 19 October 2023 to Question 203428, by what date he expects the Atlas caseworking system will provide further information on the number of applicants having the No Recourse to Public Funds condition attached to their Leave to Remain.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Transition of in-country casework to ATLAS is underway and will become the default caseworking system for in-country casework routes by June 2024.

Following transition of in-country casework, ATLAS will therefore become the primary source of MI, including No Recourse to Public Funds, by mid-June 2024.


Written Question
Migrants
Friday 12th January 2024

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the no recourse to public funds status on (a) homelessness, (b) poverty, (c) access to healthcare and (d) violence against women and girls.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The Government published an overarching Equality Impact Assessment on the Compliant Environment measures, of which the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is part, earlier this year: Compliant environment: overarching equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).


Written Question
Childcare
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of including working parents subject to the No recourse to public funds condition in the extended 30 hours childcare offer for three- and four-year-olds on (a) maternal and (b) parental participation in the labour force.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.

The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.

The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.

Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.

The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.


Written Question
Childcare: Migrant Workers
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the eligibility criteria for the extended 30 hours childcare offer for three and four year-olds to migrant parents with any immigration status who are resident in the UK, have the right to work and who work the requisite number of hours.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.

The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.

The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.

Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.

The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.


Written Question
Childcare
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of three and four year old (a) children and (b) children with British citizenship who are not eligible for the extended 30 hours of childcare offer because their parents work the required number of hours but have no recourse to public funds.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.

The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.

The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.

Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.

The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.


Written Question
Childcare
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to communicate with (a) schools and (b) local authorities about the expansion of eligibility for the disadvantaged two-year-old offer to include families affected with no recourse to public funds.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department consulted on extending eligibility for the 15 hour early education entitlement for 2-year-olds between 25 March 2022 and 20 May 2022. The department published its response on 25 August 2022 alongside guidance, including a sample application form, for local authorities which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-la-and-early-years-provider-guide. In addition, the eligibility criteria have been updated on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Migrants: Childcare
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of families with no recourse to public funds who are unable to access the 30 hours extended childcare offer for three- and four-year-olds.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition applies to millions of people, the vast majority of whom are visitors or other temporary migrants who have no need for public funds during their stay. It also applies to those without status, many of whom may not be in touch with the Home Office.

The Home Office’s Chief Statistician wrote to the Office for Statistics Regulation on 3 July 2020 to explain why the Home Office does not feel that it is of practical application to produce an estimate of the total population subject to the NRPF condition present in the UK at any one time. His letter can be found at: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/response-from-daniel-shaw-to-ed-humpherson-parliamentary-question-response/.

To note, 30 hours’ free childcare is not considered a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes. However, the eligibility criteria, as set by the Department for Education, requires at least one parent to have permission to access public funds, which means it may not be available to all families.

Parents with NRPF are able to access the 15 hours’ free early education entitlement available for all three- and four-year-olds regardless of their family circumstances and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. These 15-hour entitlements primarily benefit the child and their educational development and outcomes. While there are some benefits to parents in reduced childcare fees, this is not the main purpose of these entitlements. The 30 hours’ free childcare entitlement is primarily focused on supporting the parent(s) into work.


Written Question
Childcare
Tuesday 12th December 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the offer of 30 hours of free childcare for three and four year-olds to the children of working parents in families with no recourse to public funds.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government expects migrants coming to the UK to be able to maintain and accommodate themselves without the support of public funds.

The new working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3 and 4-year-olds.

The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control, which means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements.

Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.

The government has no current plans to extend the early years entitlements for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.