Initial considerations

This chapter sets out the benefits of undertaking early intervention, how urgent needs can be met, when a human rights assessment is required, what support is available for asylum seeking families, and how pregnant women can be supported.

4.1 Early intervention and homelessness prevention

Families with no recourse to public funds often approach their local authority when they are already in need of accommodation and financial support because they are homeless, at risk of homelessness, are living in unsuitable accommodation, or have insufficient income to meet their child’s basic needs. In such cases, the local authority will have a duty to undertake a child in need assessment and may need to provide interim support.

However, children’s services and other local authority departments may encounter families with no recourse to public funds who are struggling financially but do not yet require a statutory social work intervention. In some cases, homelessness or more serious financial hardship may be prevented if families are empowered through effective signposting to seek appropriate advice and access relevant information about their entitlements.

Early help services may be assisting families with no recourse to public funds and housing authorities are required to provide advice and information to residents who are at risk of homelessness, including those who are ineligible for homelessness assistance. Even when there is no formal requirement to assist a family, it is good practice for other local authority services to provide families with no recourse to public funds with relevant signposting information.

4.1.1 Early help

In some cases, children’s services may conduct an early help assessment for a family with no recourse to public funds. The statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ states, at paragraph 131:

Where a child and family would benefit from co-ordinated support from more than one organisation or agency (for example, education, health, housing) there should be a multi-agency assessment.

However, if the family’s circumstances develop and they have been unable to resolve their financial or housing situation whilst multi-agency assistance is being provided, then a statutory child in need assessment will be required. The statutory guidance goes onto state, at paragraph 133:

If at any time it is considered that the child may be a child in need, as defined in the Children Act 1989, a referral should be made to children’s social care.

Some local authorities in England will be piloting the Families First for Children (FFC) pathfinder programme in which early help and child in need provision is brought together in local multi-disciplinary family help services.

4.1.2 Housing duties

Housing authorities in England must provide free advice and information about the help that is available for people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, which everyone in the area can access, including people who are ineligible for homelessness assistance under part VII of the Housing Act 1996. Additionally, when a person is found to be ineligible for homelessness assistance, the Homelessness Code of Guidance’ (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, June 2024) states that:

3.2 Housing authorities may wish to consider providing information for those who are ineligible for further homelessness services on how to access any other assistance available in the area, for example through charitable or faith groups.

7.2 Housing authorities have a duty to provide or secure the provision of advice and information about homelessness and the prevention of homelessness, free of charge which must be available to any person in their district. All applicants, including those who are ineligible as a result of their immigration status, will be able to access this form of assistance from the housing authority. Housing authorities should refer applicants to appropriate support which they may be entitled to where relevant.

4.1.3 Signposting information

Signposting information for families could be made available on the local authority website and be provided by services that are likely to be accessed by families with no recourse to public funds, such as housing, early help, early years education, and free school meals teams.

Identifying prevention options will depend on the individual circumstances of the family and the options available will vary depending on the parent’s short and long-term needs, immigration status and entitlements.

Although it might initially appear that a family only requires one-off support to address a temporary crisis, signposting to appropriate advice and legal services may mean they can take steps to reduce a future risk of homelessness or financial instability.

Signposting information can include:

Local immigration advice providers
Local housing and welfare rights advice providers
Employment support services
Voluntary and community sector services that provide advocacy and other support to migrants, families, women or children
Domestic abuse support services
How to access Home Office asylum support
Local baby banks
One-off support provided by local food banks and food charities
Information about rights and entitlements on gov.uk and the NRPF Network website
Information about how to apply for local services, such as free school meals, childcare, and school uniform grants etc.
Support for migrant families webtool

The NRPF Network website provides some useful links to help local authorities find voluntary and community sector services that assist migrants in their area.

For more information about accessing Home Office asylum support, see section 4.4.1. For more information about accessing immigration advice and the options that are available to some families with no recourse to public funds, see chapter 9.

For families that are making immigration claims, it can take several months for the Home Office to make a decision, so alternatives to a formal support intervention may not be sustainable for such a lengthy period. If there are urgent child welfare concerns that are not getting addressed, it will be necessary to proceed with a statutory assessment and, if required, provide interim support.

4.2 Interim support: meeting urgent need

There will often be situations where it is necessary to provide interim support under section 17 of the Children Act whilst initial inquiries or a statutory assessment of need is being undertaken. Interim support will usually need to be provided when a family present as homeless or is clearly living in unsuitable accommodation. It can also be provided if the family are not homeless, but the parent is accruing rent arrears or cannot afford to meet their child’s basic needs.

Interim support under section 17 can be provided before a child in need assessment has been concluded and before the local authority has confirmed the parent’s immigration status.

For families with no recourse to public funds, interim support could include (but is not limited to):

Financial support to address housing matters, such as rent arrears, by topping up rent on an existing tenancy or providing subsistence payments
Emergency short-term accommodation, such as a B&B placement or funding a refuge space
Private rented sector accommodation procured through an approved provider (on a short-term basis)

The statutory guidance, ‘Working together to safeguard children’, states:

155. …In all cases, as practitioners identify needs during the assessment, they do not need to wait until the assessment concludes before providing support or commissioning services to support the child and their family.

The failure of a local authority to use its power under section 17 to provide accommodation and financial support could result in a breach of human rights in the following circumstances:

A decision that compels a family to be without shelter and funds could amount to a breach of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment. (See: R (Limbuela) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2005] UKHL 66.).
A decision that leaves a family in manifestly unsuitable accommodation that has a significant impact on a child’s health and well-being could amount to a breach of article 3 of the ECHR (See: R (TMX) v London Borough of Croydon & Anor [2024] EWHC 129.)
A decision that results in the separation of the family could amount to a breach of article 8 of the ECHR: the right to respect for their family and private life.

4.3 Human rights assessments

When a parent is without lawful status in the UK, the local authority will need to undertake a human right assessment to determine whether it can provide accommodation and financial support to the family under section 17 of the Children Act.

Section 54 and schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (‘schedule 3’) place a bar on the provision of accommodation and financial support to a family under section 17 when the parent is ‘in breach of immigration laws’ and the family can avoid destitution in the UK by returning to their country of origin.

When a parent is ‘in breach of immigration laws’, schedule 3 does not prevent the local authority from:

Undertaking a child in need assessment
Providing emergency support under section 17 whilst a needs assessment or human rights assessment is pending
Signposting the family to immigration advice
Providing other types of assistance direction to a child, such as services to meet needs arising from a disability

When schedule 3 applies, the local authority will need to undertake a human rights assessment in order to determine whether it can provide ongoing accommodation and financial support to a family under section 17 of the Children Act.

The human rights assessment must identify whether there are any legal barriers or practical obstacles preventing the family from returning to their country of origin. The human rights assessment would usually be undertaken after the child in need assessment has been completed, as the child in need assessment must address how the child’s needs can be met on return. For more information about needs assessments, see chapter 6.

When a legal barrier or practical obstacle to return is identified and the family qualifies for section 17 support, the bar on providing support will be lifted and accommodation and financial support can be provided whilst the barrier is in place. For example, a pending immigration application must be treated as a barrier to return, so the family would need to be provided with support under section 17 until the Home Office (or appeal courts) make a final decision on the claim.

The local authority can only conclude that a family can freely return to their country of origin to avoid destitution in the UK when there are no legal barriers or practical obstacles to return, and an assessment of the child’s best interests has been made. Usually, the parent will need to be provided with an opportunity to get legal advice about their immigration options before return can be fully considered. When the local authority concludes that the family can return, it will have no duty to provide accommodation and financial support under section 17. However, assistance with return and ongoing support can be provided to the family whilst travel arrangements are made. For more information about supporting a family to return, see section 10.7.

When the local authority has lawfully determined that the family are free to return to the parent’s country of origin, but the family refuses to do so, the courts have found that any hardship or degradation suffered will be a result of their decision to stay in the country and not as a result of any breach of human rights by the local authority. (See: R (AW) v London Borough of Croydon [2005] EWHC 2950 (Admin), paragraph 35.)

A human rights assessment is only required when a parent is ‘in breach of immigration laws’ and is not seeking asylum. Schedule 3 also applies to other groups including asylum seekers who have failed to comply with removal directions and people awarded refugee status in a European Economic Area state. However, families in these positions are rarely encountered by local authorities, if at all. For the full list of groups excluded by Schedule 3, please see section 3.3 of the NRPF Network practice guidance, ‘When and how to undertake a human rights assessment’.

Schedule 3 does not apply to parents with leave to remain or who are seeking asylum. Therefore, when a parent has leave to remain with NRPF, has pre-settled status, or is seeking asylum (with a pending application or appeal), the family’s eligibility for section 17 support will be determined by the outcome of a child in need assessment. In such cases, a human rights assessment should not be completed.

There is no requirement to carry out a human rights assessment when a local authority concludes that a child is not a ‘child in need’, as in such cases it will not be required to exercise its power under section 17 to provide accommodation and financial support to the family.

For more information about conducting a human rights assessment see the NRPF Network practice guidance and assessment template.

4.4 Asylum-seeking families

Asylum-seeking families are entitled to support from the Home Office and will have their accommodation and essential living needs met through the asylum support system. However, there are some instances where the local authority may need to provide accommodation and financial support, or other services, to asylum seeking families. It is therefore necessary to understand what type of Home Office support is available and when the local authority may be required to provide support.

4.4.1 Home Office asylum support

Accommodation and financial support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is provided by the Home Office to families who are destitute and are:

Seeking asylum (have a pending claim or are appealing a refusal of their asylum claim) or
Appeal rights exhausted (ARE) following an unsuccessful asylum claim and had a child under 18 in their household at the date that they became ARE

Section 95 asylum support is also available where a parent has made an article 3 human rights claim.

Emergency support can be provided under section 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 whilst the Home Office is considering an application for section 95 support.

Accommodation and financial support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is provided by the Home Office to families who are destitute when they meet further conditions, such as having pending further submissions or are taking steps to leave the UK.

For more information about asylum support and how to apply for this, see the NRPF Network website.

4.4.2 Families eligible for section 95 support

Local authorities are prohibited from providing accommodation and financial support under section 17 of the Children Act to asylum-seeking families who are eligible for section 95 Home Office support. However, in emergency situations the local authority may need to provide section 17 support on a short-term basis in order to safeguard a child’s welfare.

Section 122 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 prevents a local authority from providing accommodation and financial support to a child under section 17 Children Act 1989 when:

The Home Office is providing section 95 asylum support (accommodation and/or financial support to meet the child’s essential living needs), or
There are reasonable grounds for believing that the Home Office would be required to provide such support if the parent were to make an application for section 95 support

Section 122 states:

(1) In this section “eligible person” means a person who appears to the Secretary of State to be a person for whom support may be provided under section 95.

(2) Subsections (3) and (4) apply if an application for support under section 95 has been made by an eligible person whose household includes a dependant under the age of 18 (“the child”).

(3) If it appears to the Secretary of State that adequate accommodation is not being provided for the child, he must exercise his powers under section 95 by offering, and if his offer is accepted by providing or arranging for the provision of, adequate accommodation for the child as part of the eligible person’s household.

(4) If it appears to the Secretary of State that essential living needs of the child are not being met, he must exercise his powers under section 95 by offering, and if his offer is accepted by providing or arranging for the provision of, essential living needs for the child as part of the eligible person’s household.

(5) No local authority may provide assistance under any of the child welfare provisions in respect of a dependant under the age of 18, or any member of his family, at any time when—
(a) the Secretary of State is complying with this section in relation to him; or
(b) there are reasonable grounds for believing that—
(i) the person concerned is a person for whom support may be provided under section 95; and
(ii) the Secretary of State would be required to comply with this section if that person had made an application under section 95.

The ‘child welfare provisions’ are:

Section 17 of the Children Act 1989
Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
Article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

In practice, asylum-seeking families often experience difficulties and delays in accessing asylum support. Accommodation and financial support may need to be provided by a local authority to an asylum-seeking family when it appears to the local authority, or it has been assessed, that a child is in need due to the family’s lack of access to housing and funds and one of the following applies:

The family are seeking legal advice or are intending to claim asylum but have not yet made an asylum claim to the Home Office
The family have claimed asylum but the Home Office has not provided emergency support or has not yet decided the section 95 asylum support application
The Home Office has withdrawn the family’s asylum support
The Home Office has declined to provide the family with section 95 support

For more information about helping families to transfer to Home Office support, see section 10.6.

Additionally, a parent who is seeking asylum and is assessed by adult social care as having accommodation-related care and support needs will need to be provided with accommodation and financial support by the local authority and will no longer qualify for section 95 Home Office support. Where their household includes a child under 18, children’s social care may need to fund any additional financial support under section 17 of the Children Act, and, if there is no centralised budget for supporting households with no recourse to public funds, may need to agree with adult social care how to share the accommodation costs for the family. For more information about accommodating adult asylum seekers with care and support needs, see section 5.2.3 of the NRPF Network practice guidance, ‘Assessing and supporting adults with no recourse to public funds’.

4.4.3 Families eligible for section 4 support

When a family is eligible for section 4 (rather than section 95) asylum support, the local authority can only refer them to the Home Office for accommodation and financial support if they are certain that the support will be ‘available and adequate’. The courts have suggested that it is unlikely that section 4 support would be sufficient to meet a child’s needs. (R (VC & Ors) v Newcastle City Council [2011] EWHC 2673 (Admin) & R (C, T, M and U) v London Borough of Southwark [2016] EWCA Civ 707).

If the local authority is not certain that a family will qualify for section 4 support or cannot demonstrate that section 4 support will adequately meet a child’s assessed needs, accommodation and financial support under section 17 of the Children Act may need to be provided.

Schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 will apply where a parent is an ARE asylum seeker and claimed asylum in-country or has failed to comply with removal directions. Therefore, the provision of accommodation and financial support under section 17 to an ARE asylum seeking family will usually be subject to a human rights assessment that considers whether there are any legal or practical barriers to return. For more information about human rights assessments, see section 4.3.

4.4.4 Children living in Home Office accommodation

Children who are accommodated by the Home Office with their families may be referred to children’s services for additional support. It may be beneficial for families to receive early help in order to assist them to access local services and support their integration into the community. However, in some cases, a child and their parents may require services under section 17 of the Children Act, such as services to meet the needs of a disabled child.

Families that are accommodated by the Home Office in hotels or hostels, where food and toiletries are provided, receive a very limited amount of financial support. Additional Home Office support can be requested in some cases under section 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. For more information about claiming additional asylum support, see the NRPF Network website.

4.5 Pregnant women

A local authority can provide a pregnant woman who has no recourse to public funds with accommodation and financial support when she does not have a child in her care. However, local authorities may take different approaches with regards to whether adult social care or children’s social care provide such support to a pregnant woman.

When a pregnant woman with no recourse to public funds is homeless, at risk of homelessness or has insufficient income to meet her basic living needs, adult social care should undertake a needs assessment to establish whether the pregnant woman has eligible care and support needs.

If the assessment concludes that the woman does not have any care and support needs, other than those related to the pregnancy, then adult social care must consider whether accommodation can be provided under section 19(1) of the Care Act 2014. Section 19(1) provides the local authority with a discretionary power to meet non-eligible care and support needs. When a pregnant woman with no recourse to public funds does not meet the Care Act eligibility criteria and has no other means of accessing accommodation or funds then in many cases it will be appropriate for the local authority to provide accommodation and/or financial support under section 19(1).

Although the Care Act 2014 provides the legislative basis for providing support to a pregnant woman, in practice, it might be more appropriate for children’s social care to deliver support for the following reasons:

When the child is born, children’s social care will need to undertake a child in need assessment with a view to providing the family with accommodation and financial support under section 17 of the Children Act
In some cases, a pre-birth assessment will need to be carried out by children’s social care
As soon as the mother is supported, she will need to be assisted to establish a pathway off support and long-term solution to her situation of destitution, which may be more effectively progressed when one service maintains responsibility for her support

For more information about pathways off support see chapter 9.

When schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 applies because the pregnant woman has no lawful status in the UK, the provision of accommodation and financial support under section 19(1) of the Care Act (or section 17 of the Children Act following the birth of the child) will be subject to a human rights assessment that considers whether there are any legal or practical barriers preventing the family from returning to their country of origin. The stage of pregnancy, baby’s age and any additional health complications affecting the mother or baby will be relevant considerations when identifying whether there is a practical barrier to return. For more information about human rights assessments, see section 4.3.

For more information about providing support to a pregnant woman under the Care Act, see section 4.4 of the NRPF Network practice guidance, ‘Assessing and supporting adults with no recourse to public funds‘.

In England, mothers who are without lawful status in the UK are likely to be charged for maternity care provided in a NHS hospital. Although patients can be charged up front for secondary healthcare, a pregnant woman who is required to pay for treatment should not be denied antenatal treatment or other maternity care as this must be treated as ‘urgent or immediately necessary’. For more information about entitlements to healthcare, see the NRPF Network website.