The longitudinal impacts of UK immigration policy on children and families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is a visa condition within UK immigration policy that prevents most migrants to the UK from accessing social security benefits, which can leave families in extreme poverty. For families living with NRPF, ‘child in need’ statutory provision is one of the few safety nets. This includes housing and subsistence support for children who are unlikely to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining a reasonable standard of health or development. Although there is growing literature about the impact of NRPF on children and families, little is known about the longitudinal effects of living with NRPF, or the differing outcomes for families who access statutory support and those who do not. This presentation reports on a three-year project funded the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research Programme. Led by a multi-disciplinary team comprised of social work and public health academics and those with lived experience, we aim to understand what happens to the health of children and families with NRPF. Objectives include exploring the impact of being denied recourse to public funds, and of relying on 'child in need' support from local council children's services under children’s legislation. We want to know what effect applying for this support has on the health of children and families with NRPF, and what happens if this support is refused. Using the Public Health Outcomes Framework, quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to assess the self-reported changes in health and wellbeing over time, and the differences in outcomes between households who access statutory support and those who do not. This presentation will discuss the initial project phases and scoping review of the literature, including engagement with key stakeholders and the development of our research.