Last Thursday, Stephen secured a debate in the House of Commons on no recourse to public funds (NRPF), a condition attached to temporary visas that stops people accessing many benefits. Families with NRPF are facing destitution as they face the cost of living crisis without government help.
There are 1.6 million people with NRPF, according to the House of Commons Library, and Citizens Advice estimates 329,000 are parents. Their children, many of whom are British citizens, cannot access Child Benefit or receive 30 hours of free childcare. Families with NRPF cannot access Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Housing Benefit, and many struggled to be put on furlough during the pandemic.
Few people with NRPF are here temporarily - 40% have been in the UK for over five years - and most are in work. Yet, facing the cost of living crisis without support, eight out of ten parents with NRPF are struggling to feed their children. Even before the crisis, half of parents were behind on rent and 84% were behind on at least one bill.
In the debate, Stephen argued for granting Child Benefit to all British children, regardless of their parents immigration status, and automatically removing NRPF from parents’ visas after five years. The cross-party Work and Pensions Select Committee, which Stephen chairs, proposed these reforms. They would cost £160 million and are supported by both Labour and Conservative backbenchers.
Speaking in the debate, Stephen said, “the pandemic highlighted the perilous situation of people with no recourse to public funds. The latest Trussell Trust data shows food bank demand up sharply again. In the cost of living crisis, families with NRPF are being clobbered once more.”