In a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 8 October, Stephen Timms and other Members of Parliament questioned Minister Chris Philp about the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy.
Members told heartbreaking stories of the the hardship the No Recourse to Public Funds condition is causing to families in their constituencies, particularly during the pandemic.
The condition, which applies to most migrants granted limited leave in the UK, prevents people from accessing most benefits like Universal Credit or child benefit. Over the coronavirus pandemic, this has left people who have lost hours or income or who are otherwise ineligble for the governement’s support schemes, without a safety net. Data from the Home Office has showed that the number of migrants subject to NRPF applying for destitution support increased six-fold in the first three months of lockdown.
Minister Chris Philp promised to probe whether change of conditions applications could be decided more speedily, see if he could find out data on the number of in-country visa applications, and clarify if people with NRPF would be eligible for the £500 Track and Trace Support payment.
Stephen said: “I hope the Minister will now provide me with answers to straightforward questions on data on no Recourse to Public Funds. And once he has finally acknowledged the scale of this issue, he must suspend the condition until this pandemic is over. It is causing families enormous hardship.”