FAIR DEAL FOR NEW UK CITIZENS

South Scotland MSP Emma Harper has renewed calls for the Home Secretary to scrap the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy – the legislation which prevents those appealing or applying for immigration status to access state support – as a concrete step towards tackling inequality.

The South Scotland MSP has renewed these calls, particularly as over the course over the COVID-19 pandemic, many families and households have experienced a real terms reduction in earnings, and for many families going through the Immigration Tribunal Service, their legal proceedings have been placed on hold.

This month (June 2019) saw the publication of ‘The Cost of the No Recourse to Public Funds Policy’ report by the Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Migrants. The report found that most families with NRPF in the UK have at least one child who is British by birth and nearly all of those families are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME). NRPF rules are therefore more likely to affect BAME British children than white British children.

Ms Harper has herself had several complex immigration cases which have been negatively affected by what she described as this “prohibitive and unjust” policy which was put in place by the UK Government.

Commenting, Ms Harper said:

“Given that the no recourse to public funds policy is more likely to affect BAME British children than white British children, the policy is racially discriminatory and must go – without delay. My office has experience of assisting families here in Dumfries & Galloway who are appealing Home Office decisions. These are families who have been negatively impacted by this policy through being unable to access any form of official support through the Department for Work and Pensions, through Universal Credit and even for disability payments.

“Scrapping this prohibitive policy would be a concrete step towards tackling inequality in the UK – inequality which has again been highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests over the recent days and weeks.

“Everyone in the UK should have the right to access support – support that is particularly vital during a global pandemic – regardless of immigration status. However, due to this policy, many people are being left behind due to the lack of support, leading to them being pushed further into hardship through no fault of their own.

“I call on the Home Secretary Priti Patel to take urgent steps to right this wrong in UK law and ask my fellow Dumfries and Galloway MPs and MSPs to support my calls.”