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Working with rough sleepers who have no recourse to public funds
This page examines good practice work for rough sleepers from countries outside the UK and who do not have recourse to public funds.
Background
A person with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) is someone who is subject to immigration control (from non-EU countries abroad) and has no entitlement to welfare benefits (for example, who is not a permanent resident), or to Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) support for asylum seekers. Typically, services and benefits from which NRPF people are excluded from include
- help with housing from the local authority
- attendance allowance
- carers allowance (previously invalid care allowance)
- child benefit
- council tax benefit
- disability living allowance
- housing benefit
- income support
- income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- severe disablement allowance
- social fund payments
- child tax credit
- working tax credit
- pension credit
Typically, homeless people in this category will be nationals of the Central and Eastern European states and failed asylum seekers who do not qualify for or have not registered for Section 4 support.
People from the EU accession states, also termed Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs) are allowed to come to the UK and work, but they do not receive public benefits like other European Union citizens. Nationals of EU10 countries, apart from Romania and Bulgaria, can join the worker registration scheme, which entitles them to reside in the UK and work here as long as they register as soon as they find employment. After one year of continuous employment, they can apply for residency. Romanians and Bulgarians, while able to enter the UK for up to three months freely, have to get permission to work and can only stay in the UK longer than three months without a work permit if they are a) a student b) self employed c) self sufficient d) have completed 12 months continuous employment in the UK e) are married to a UK national f) are a family member of an EU citizen. If they cannot show they are in one of these categories, they may be breaking the law by staying in the UK more than three months. They will not be entitled to any benefits. Currently, if an EU10 national has been unemployed for over one month they are without access to public funds.
Asylum seekers are people who come to the UK because they are seeking refugee status. A refugee, as defined by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, is someone who has fled from his/her country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion and is unwilling or unable to find protection within his/her own country. A person outside his/her own country can make a claim to refugee status almost anywhere in the world, but it is up to each individual country to decide how to determine who fits the definition and who does not, as well as what specific entitlements they will have.
Once someone has applied for asylum, if he/she requires it he/she will receive housing and/or income support. If the Border and Immigration Agency decides that someone who has applied for asylum does not merit refugee status, they turn down the request. The person can apply to appeal the decision, and if that fails or is turned down he/she is required to leave the country – these people are termed ‘failed’ asylum seekers because their asylum application has been rejected. At this point, the BIA ends their housing and income support, unless they qualify for Section 4 (hard case) support, which consists of accommodation and vouchers. To qualify for this support, a person has to show that they are destitute.
Section 4 support is typically for single people aged over 18 – families with children under 18 are allowed to continue to be supported as asylum seekers until their departure. However, if a child is born after the mother’s application for asylum has already failed, that child does not qualify her for continued support and both she and the child could be left destitute.
Why are people with no recourse to public funds rough sleeping?
People who do not qualify for support with income or housing and who find themselves destitute are likely to resort to sleeping rough. For CEEs who can access the Worker Registration Scheme, they may fall out of employment, or they may simply have arrived in the UK without sufficient preparation and found themselves without funds. For failed asylum seekers, they will have been evicted from their BIA accommodation when their claim was rejected – while many will find refuge with friends, family or even strangers, some will end up with nowhere to go. Often repatriation is not perceived as a viable option – asylum seekers can normally receive financial support to return home, but do not wish to for fear of persecution or harm; CEE migrants may not have the money, but also may be embarrassed to return in failure, or may not see that their situation would be different there.
Barriers to engaging NRPF rough sleepers
Language
Communication can be difficult with those whose first language is not English; in some cases the rough sleeper may speak no English at all. It would be beneficial to have lists of local services written in different languages – although this will not be suitable if the client is unable to read. One option would be to ask an interpreter to accompany a visit to a rough sleeper if you know where he/she is likely to be.
Culture and experience
Working with individuals from different cultures can sometimes be challenging, as different types of behaviour are interpreted differently in different countries. For example, failed asylum seekers may mistrust enforcement authorities such as the police, and may not want to receive even those services that are available to them for fear of being deported. They may also have experienced abuse by the authorities of their home countries, and even torture. Trust will be a particular issue for this group of people, and it may be helpful to show them identity badges and to explain carefully your role, and the implications of visiting any service you direct them to. Internationally recognised services, such as the Red Cross, may be preferable. Also, some services have expressed frustration in working with refugees and asylum seekers who appear to be trying to ‘cheat the system’ or who are perceived as being overly persistent or forceful. It is important to remember that many refugees and asylum seekers in Britain are much less likely to have come from disadvantaged backgrounds or to have substance use issues. They are more likely to have been political or religious activists in their home countries, and have more highly developed coping mechanisms and be more assertive.
What do NRPF rough sleepers need?
Perhaps the most problematic aspect of NRPF rough sleeping is that many of those forced to sleep on the streets will not have very high support needs such as alcohol, drug and mental health problems, but may develop them over time if they do not find appropriate accommodation. A recent study undertaken by Homeless Link into A8 (CEE states without Romania and Bulgaria) found that there were two categories of A8 rough sleepers: those with low support needs who needed help to find employment and accommodation only, and those with higher support needs who would benefit from supported accommodation but were unable to access it. Typically, there are only very few opportunities for people with no recourse to public funds to access supported accommodation.
The same would likely be true for failed asylum seekers – some would have much higher support needs such as post-traumatic stress disorder, mental and physical health problems etc., while others would have no support issues outside of their asylum claim. However, the main issue for failed asylum seekers is their pseudo-illegal status in the country – they either need to be returned to their home countries if their asylum claims are genuinely unfounded, or they need to achieve legal status. The most appropriate solution for an asylum seeker without high support needs, then, would be to put them in touch with a legal service to ensure that there has been no further legal recourse for them in terms of their asylum claim and, if there is not, to initiate voluntary repatriation or deportation.
What can street outreach services do?
Be realistic
One of the most important things to remember when working with NRPF clients is what you can not do. It will be very important to sustain continued positive engagement with a client and not to promise anything that you can not actually offer. Ensuring that you know which services are available for these clients and which are not is beneficial. Directing someone to a service that they are unable to benefit from could cause them a lot of frustration and expense, which could stop them from engaging with outreach services in the future.
Specialist services
Local specialist services are a valuable resource. Getting people keyed in with these services, and hence members of their national communities and networks, is a positive outcome that street outreach teams can meet. If a rough sleeper is engaging with one of these services, it is useful to communicate regularly with their staff to find out what progress they have made with someone and keep abreast of developments. It may even be possible to involve someone who speaks another language or with particular expertise with helping a client.
Day centres
Perhaps the most useful resource for someone rough sleeping with no recourse to public funds will be a day centre that can help them with their basic needs – clothing and laundry, showers and food. However, not all day centres will be open to helping clients with no recourse to public funds who may appear to have very different issues and support needs than their usual clientele. A good approach is to identify day centres that are knowledgeable about NRPF clients and that are open to assisting them. If the only accessible day centres seem unreceptive to these clients, it could be helpful for you to accompany them to the centre and explain their situation and needs to day centre staff. CEE clients who are able to work in the UK could benefit from education and employment activities.
Healthcare
Both CEE clients and failed asylum seekers can access primary healthcare – anyone who can be considered ‘usually resident’ (with the intention to stay in the UK for the foreseeable future) can be registered by a GP, as well as access A&E and free clinics. However, not all GPs are fully aware of this, and furthermore it can be difficult to do without a fixed address. If you encounter a rough sleeper with health problems, it may be advisable to direct them to a day centre that can help them register with a friendly GP, or to accompany them to a GP yourself.
Good practice: working with nationals from accession states
An innovative pilot project in Hammersmith and Fulham between the local authority, Broadway and a Polish charity, the Barka Foundation, is supporting Polish nationals to return home when they fail to thrive in the labour market. The local authority funds this project, with support from CLG. The target is 40 contacts and 3 reconnections per month. The project has been a success. In five months they have made 44 reconnections. 23 are with Barka communities and 18 have returned to their families. Most importantly, there have been significant reductions in the numbers of accession nationals on the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Some services in London have now set aside funds that can be used by outreach workers to buy coach tickets to return rough sleepers to their home countries. This can be beneficial for returning the clients to established positive networks including to families and friends. However, outreach workers may need to be aware that some clients, who have slept rough in their home nations, may be resistant to return if there is a lack of homelessness services present in that country.
For more information on services for EU10 nationals please see Homeless Link’s Services for people from Central and Eastern Europe page.
Also, see Homeless Link’s Central and Eastern European Project page which gives detail for ongoing policy and good practice work with EU10 clients.
The Barka Foundation website details the work they are currently doing to support those who are socially excluded.
Checklist
Checklists for those with with NRPF clients
Does the outreach service access clients that have NRPF?
Are staff carrying materials in other languages to support their engagement with non-English speakers? (e.g. dictionaries, phrase books).
Do any of the local day centres provide specialist support for NRPF clients?
Is there a local, suitable GP who can provide healthcare when necessary?
Are any other local agencies able to support NRPF clients?
Is it possible to work with reconnection services back to CEE countries? Is the service able to fund travel back to Europe for those who want it?
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