Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the cost to local authorities of supporting households with no recourse to public funds.

The Government has provided unprecedented support of over £8 billion of funding to local authorities in England to help councils manage the impacts of COVID-19 and respond to the spending pressures they are facing, including £4.6 billion which is not ringfenced. Funding provided to local authorities under the COVID-19 emergency response will be paid through a grant, recognising that local authorities are best placed to decide how this funding is spent. The Government has also provided additional funding of nearly £19 billion for the devolved administrations under the Barnett formula as part of the wider government response.

More information on the support available to migrants during the pandemic, including those with No Recourse to Public Funds, can be found at:

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