This week Homeless Link held an online conference on solutions to the dual challenges of homelessness and navigating the immigration system in Britain. Here are some of the key discussion points and takeaways.

NRPF

A range of speakers from policy and advice organisations included Andy Jolly from the Institute for Community Research & Development (ICRD) at the University of Wolverhampton and Bethan Lant from refugee and migrant support organisation, Praxis; they spoke about what ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) really means for people from outside the UK who have made their home here.

This comes days after a High Court ruling that people with NRPF were entitled to emergency housing, under the ‘Everyone In’ scheme first launched during the spring 2020 lockdown.

NRPF is still a massive barrier for many people in the migrant community who find themselves homeless (as well as being a cause of homelessness), including those who do not have settled status or have had asylum applications refused. The law is still unclear even for people who have been given pre-settled status (who have not yet lived in the UK for five years), and funding in this instance may be subject to residency tests.

One of the points made was that people with NRPF status can still access contributory benefits like Jobseeker’s Allowance and State Pension, if they have been making contributions, as well as primary healthcare such as GP services and legal aid. Even though NRPF means people are not entitled to local authority homelessness support, non-statutory services like P3 can still help.

The impact of Brexit

With the impact of Brexit comes further challenges. Benjamin Morgan of the Public Law Interest Centre advocated for homelessness services to take a ‘rights-based approach’ to assisting people to access the support they are entitled to, to seek legal advice and to question statutory services who refuse help to people based on their immigration status.

There was also discussion on the uncertainty around the deadline of 30 June – the end of the ‘grace period’ following the UK’s exit from the EU in 2020. This is the deadline for EU and EEA citizens to apply for settled or pre-settled status, but many people may not realise they need to apply. The government has not made it clear what people’s rights will be beyond this date.

Under a law that came in at the end of last year, non-UK nationals, now including those from the EU, can also have their status withdrawn if they are found to be sleeping rough.

‘Creating pathways out of homelessness’

CEO of Enterprise Homes Group, Matt Lambert, made the important point that people from outside the UK who are seeking settled status may be experiencing ‘relational poverty’; meaning they often don’t have family, friends or other connections here to rely on for support if things go wrong, (as British citizens are more likely to) so things can quickly take a downward spiral into homelessness.

Lambert also talked about using social enterprise as a solution to the challenges faced by people who have NRPF and are homeless, recognising that people who have experienced long periods of homelessness cannot always manage taking on the responsibilities of a tenancy, bills and a job overnight.

Enterprise Homes created ReGen Household, a Community Interest Company providing house clearance and selling donated and restored homewares. Crucially, it also provides a variety of work-based placements and skills training for people who have been homeless, offering them gradual progression to become ‘work-ready’, as well as stable accommodation.

>>If you would like a list of resources and organisations you can contact for help in supporting people in the migrant community, click here to download.