Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the no recourse to public funds policy on British children whose parents have no recourse to public funds.

Temporary migrants are generally required to support themselves and any accompanying family members, including children, in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a well-established principle that protects taxpayer-funded public services from becoming overburdened.

Where a child is born in the UK, in order to be a British citizen, at least one parent must be a British citizen or be settled in the UK (such as holding indefinite leave to remain) at the time of the child’s birth. This means that British children will generally have at least one parent who is eligible to claim public funds.

Where British children’s parents do have a NRPF condition there are, nonetheless, strong and important safeguards in place to ensure they can receive support where they are destitute, at risk of destitution, or have community care needs, including issues relating to human rights or the wellbeing of children.