This chapter is intended to act as a ‘quick read’ covering all the essential points that social workers, managers, and senior leaders need to be aware of when delivering support to families with no recourse to public funds. Practitioners who are responsible for assessing need and providing support to families will also need to refer to more detailed sections of the guidance.

What can a family access when they have no recourse to public funds?

• People with no recourse to public funds cannot claim ‘public funds’, which are defined as most benefits and local authority housing assistance.
• Other services, such as social care, childcare and free school meals, are not ‘public funds’ and therefore can be provided to families with no recourse to public funds.
• However, some services, such as childcare for working parents in England and free NHS hospital treatment have immigration-related eligibility criteria.

For more information about how immigration status affects entitlements, see chapter 3. Full information about migrants’ rights and entitlements to different services can be found on the NRPF Network website.

What can a local authority do to avert homelessness amongst families with no recourse to public funds before section 17 support is required?

• Providing effective signposting to families when they access local authority services can empower them to seek appropriate advice and access relevant information about their entitlements, which in some cases, may prevent homelessness or severe financial hardship.

For more information about early intervention and preventing homelessness, see section 4.1.

How does section 17 apply to a family with no recourse to public funds?

• Social care is not a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes, therefore support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (‘section 17’) can be provided to families with no recourse to public funds.
• Section 17 enables a local authority to alleviate destitution and prevent homelessness by providing accommodation and financial support to a family when the parent cannot access benefits or local authority housing assistance due to their immigration status.
• Section 17 requires the local authority to promote the upbringing of a child within their family – accommodating a child alone is not an appropriate response when a family can be accommodated together.

For more information about how section 17 applies to families with no recourse to public funds, see section 1.2.

When will the local authority have a duty to undertake a child in need assessment?

• The local authority must undertake an assessment under section 17 when it appears that a child in need is present in its area.
• The threshold for undertaking a child in need assessment is low and will usually be met when, as a result of the parent’s inability to access benefits or employment, a family does not appear to have adequate accommodation or sufficient income to meet their child’s basic needs.

For more information about the duty to assess need, see chapter 5.

How is a family’s eligibility for section 17 support established?

• A child in need assessment must be undertaken in line with the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.
• The assessment must be child-centred and will need to consider how the parent’s inability to obtain adequate housing or meet the costs of their child’s basic needs impacts upon the child’s personal development and well-being, alongside any other factors affecting the child.
• The assessment will need to establish what resources are available to the parent to access suitable accommodation and/or to meet the costs of their child’s basic needs, taking into account any immigration restrictions that apply to the parent.

For more information about assessing need, see chapter 6.

What can the local authority do if the family need support immediately?

• Accommodation and financial support can be provided on an interim basis under section 17 whilst a child in need assessment is being undertaken or before the parent’s immigration status has been established.

For more information about interim support, see section 4.2.

When is a human rights assessment required?

• A human rights assessment, which considers the parent’s ability to return to their country of origin, must be undertaken when a family qualifies for section 17 support and the parent is without lawful status in the UK (and is not seeking asylum).
• A human rights assessment should not be completed when a parent has leave to remain, including pre-settled status, or is seeking asylum.
• When a parent has no lawful status, the local authority can still provide interim support and undertake a child in need assessment.
• A parent without lawful status will need to be signposted to immigration advice in the first instance – it will not be possible to consider the family’s ability to return until there are no outstanding immigration claims or the parent has been advised that they have no grounds to apply for leave to remain.

For more information about human rights assessments, see section 4.3.

What support can be provided to a family in order to meet a child’s needs under section 17?

• Section 17 provides the local authority with a broad power to meet a child’s needs by providing services, financial support (subsistence), and accommodation.
• Meeting a child’s identified needs and adopting a child-centred approach must remain at the forefront of any decisions regarding the support provided to a family with no recourse to public funds.
• As a family will require support for an average period of 1.5 years, the type of accommodation and level of financial support that is provided will need to sufficiently raise the family out of destitution and mitigate any ongoing safeguarding risks to the child.
• The absolute minimum level of financial support that can be provided to a family under section 17 is equivalent to asylum support rates set by the Home Office, plus utilities and council tax. However, many families will need to be paid a higher rate of support.
• When families are placed in accommodation out-of-area, particularly where this is in a different region, it will be necessary to implement appropriate safeguards to manage any arising risks and practical challenges.

For more information about meeting a child’s needs see chapter 7 (accommodation) and chapter 8 (subsistence).

What can the local authority do to help a family establish a long-term solution to their destitution?

• In order to establish a long-term solution to a family’s destitution, it will be necessary to identify an appropriate pathway off section 17 support and help the family to achieve this, which will usually involve assisting the family to access immigration advice.
• In some cases, immigration advice may need to be funded by the local authority.

For more information about pathways off support, see chapter 9.

When can the local authority end section 17 support?

• Section 17 support can only be withdrawn when a child is no longer a ‘child in need’ or when the local authority has established, through a human rights assessment, that there are no legal or practical obstacles preventing a family from being able to return to their country of origin when the parent has no lawful status in the UK.
• For the majority of families, section 17 support will end following a grant of leave to remain that confers access to benefits and local authority housing assistance.
• When families obtain leave to remain, they will need to be proactively assisted to obtain benefits and access homelessness assistance from a housing authority.

For more information about withdrawing support, see chapter 10.

Who is responsible for supporting 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.
• In some instances, the local authority may need to provide asylum seeking families with accommodation and financial support under section 17.

For more information about supporting asylum-seeking families, see section 4.4.

How can a pregnant woman be supported?

• A pregnant woman with no recourse to public funds can be provided with accommodation and financial support under section 19(1) of the Care Act 2014 – such support may be delivered by adult social care or children’s social care.

For more information about supporting pregnant women, see section 4.5.