Agenda item

[To receive information on numbers of people with No Recourse to Public Funds.]

Neeraj Malhotra, Consultant in Public Health presented the briefing note on No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) – Request for Numbers. It was noted that the information contained within the briefing note had been collated in response to a request from Health and Wellbeing Together in October 2018 following the presentation of the draft NRPF Protocol. The figures represented the number of people with no recourse to public funds residing within the City and an update was also provided on the draft protocol.

It was noted that there is a considerable difference between the data that had been extracted from social care sources and the Refugee and Migrant Centre. It was highlighted the two different data sources were not comparing ‘like with like’ as one set of data provided a current snapshot whilst the other covered a 12-month period.

The data indicated that a very large proportion of people with NRPF status were able to manage without Council support and they had established their own support networks through either community links or extended family. It was noted that in some instances, local churches donate collections from their congregations to members of the community who have NRPF status.

It was noted that future data gathering ’soft intelligence’ from the voluntary sector to enable the partnership to monitor numbers as well as trends. It was suggested that approaching other sources such as schools and West Midlands Police may be beneficial to gather further information on figures.

It was reported that the training accompanying the launch of the NRPF Protocol had been unavoidably delayed.  This was due to some essential revisions that needed to be made to the Protocol relating to how the Council should be notified about people with NRPF status. The training will be re-scheduled to commence after April 2019 and will be offered to elected members as well as other stakeholders.

It was suggested that timeliness with which applications were dealt with by the Home Office or the numbers of people with NRPF status moving in and out of borough may also have had some effect on gathering realistic figures.

Cases of people with NRPF status who were in employment yet had no fixed abode were discussed. It was suggested that these people may be working ‘cash in hand’ and it was noted that they may be at risk of exploitation. 

A concern was raised in respect of people with NRPF status who were at risk of eviction from rental properties due to rent payment difficulties and it was clarified that these were being dealt with on a case by case basis. It was added that legal aid funding was available and Helen Child, Third Sector Partnership representative offered to provide any advice on request on behalf of the Citizens Advice Bureau.

It was noted that it was positive that many people with NRPF status had sought support within the community as it was beneficial for communities to become as self-sufficient as possible.

In respect of children from families with NRPF status, it was highlighted that Wolverhampton was in a strong position compared with many other local authorities. It was noted that child in need assessments provided robust support to families throughout the immigration process.

Resolved:

1.    That the information on numbers of No Recourse to Public Funds in the City of Wolverhampton be noted.

2.    That the update on the multi-agency protocol and accompanying training be noted.