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.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the number of children in families with no recourse to public funds who are unable to access 30 hours of free childcare 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 NRPF 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.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the eligibility criteria for the extended 30 hours childcare offer to allow migrant parents with the right to work to access that offer.
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 department has not made an estimate of the numbers of families who are not eligible for 30 hours because they have no recourse to public funds. The department also does not hold data on what proportion of those individuals have children with British citizenship.
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 three and four 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 three and four year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the two-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.
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 estimate of the number of individuals who are not eligible for the extended 30 hours of childcare offer because they are subject to the no recourse to public funds condition; and what proportion of those individuals have children with British citizenship.
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 department has not made an estimate of the numbers of families who are not eligible for 30 hours because they have no recourse to public funds. The department also does not hold data on what proportion of those individuals have children with British citizenship.
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 three and four 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 three and four year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the two-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.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
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 extension of eligibility for free early education for 2-year-olds 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 can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-la-and-early-years-provider-guide. In addition, the eligibility criteria has been updated on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to launch the consultation on the permanent extension of the Healthy Start scheme to families who are subject to No Recourse to Public Funds.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are currently considering options and further information will be available in due course.
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 and 1 December 2022 to Question 97406, what recent estimate she has made of the date by which 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 Robert Jenrick
ATLAS will become the default caseworking system for in-country casework by early to Mid-2024.
Following transition of in-country casework, ATLAS will therefore become the primary source of MI, including No Recourse to Public Funds, by early to Mid-2024.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beneficiaries in receipt of healthy start payments have no recourse to public funds but are eligible through having British children as of 19 September 2023.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
As of 19 September 2023, there are 41 beneficiaries in receipt of payments from the temporary extension to the Healthy Start scheme.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many application forms for Healthy Start payments have been sent out to families with no recourse to public funds with British children.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has sent out over 1,300 application forms to those who have requested them. The Department does not hold information on the recipients of the application forms.
As of 18 August 2023, the Department has received 110 fully completed applications that have demonstrated that the applicant met the eligibility criteria. The Department does not collect and therefore hold data on all applications made, as some applicants do not meet all the eligibility criteria, and these applications are not stored.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications for the Healthy Start payments have been made from applicants with no recourse to public funds with British children.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has sent out over 1,300 application forms to those who have requested them. The Department does not hold information on the recipients of the application forms.
As of 18 August 2023, the Department has received 110 fully completed applications that have demonstrated that the applicant met the eligibility criteria. The Department does not collect and therefore hold data on all applications made, as some applicants do not meet all the eligibility criteria, and these applications are not stored.