Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Government support for people with No Recourse to Public Funds conditions.

Many of the wide-ranging COVID-19 measures the Government has put in place are available to migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) and have been recently extended.

The assistance being given under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-employed Income Support Scheme are not classed as public funds and are available to all those who are legally working or self-employed respectively, including those with NRPF status. Both these schemes have been extended until spring 2021.

The Government has continued to keep the situation under review and has introduced further measures as required, such as the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme in England. This provides a £500 payment to those who have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace. Support is also available for those who do not meet the criteria of the scheme, in the form of a £500 discretionary payment, paid by local?authorities. This payment is available to those with NRPF, who meet any additional criteria set by the local authority. Further information on this scheme and discretionary payment can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/test-and-trace-support-payment-scheme-claiming-financial-support/claiming-financial-support-under-the-test-and-trace-support-payment-scheme.

Individuals whose lawful basis of stay in the UK is based on their family life or human rights can apply to have the NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.

Since the onset of the pandemic, we have continued to assess and prioritise NRPF ‘change of conditions’ applications and deal with them compassionately. To support the swifter processing of applications, we have introduced evidential flexibility so that caseworkers can make a decision without requiring every piece of information. Data published in July shows the average time taken to make a decision on cases is 30 days despite a large increase in applications in quarter 2 of 2020. Of the decisions taken in the same period, 89% were granted. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/no-recourse-to-public-funds-applications-to-change-conditions-of-leave-july-2020