This chapter sets out the legislation that health and social care (HSC) trusts in Northern Ireland must apply when assessing and meeting the needs of children living within families with no recourse to public funds who require accommodation and financial support.
This chapter must be read in conjunction with earlier chapters of the guidance, which specify the equivalent social care legislation in England and how the courts have interpreted this applies to families with no recourse to public funds. Some of the principles that have been established by the courts in England may be applicable when implementing social care law in Northern Ireland. However, it will be necessary to consult the HSC trust’s legal services for further guidance about the relevance of any English case law in interpreting Northern Ireland legislation.
As immigration legislation applies across the UK, practitioners in Northern Ireland may also find the information in previous chapters about the practical delivery of support useful to inform their practice.
13.1 Public funds
In Northern Ireland, a person who is subject to a ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) condition will be prohibited from accessing:
- Most benefits – as listed on the NRPF Network website
- Homelessness assistance under part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988
- Social housing under part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1981
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Housing Rights provide more information about homelessness eligibility rules.
Social care is not a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes and therefore can be provided to a child or their parent who has no recourse to public funds.
For more information about ‘public funds’ and who has no recourse to public funds see chapter 3.
13.2 Children’s social care support for families with NRPF
In Northern Ireland, HSC trusts, rather than local authorities, are responsible for providing accommodation and financial support to families with no recourse to public funds. NI direct lists the five HSC trusts that deliver social care across Northern Ireland.
When a family with no recourse to public funds is homeless, at risk of homelessness, or has insufficient income to meet their child’s basic needs, the HSC trust must consider whether accommodation and financial support (alongside any other assistance to meet the child’s needs) can be provided under article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
When the HSC trust finds that the parent’s inability to obtain suitable housing or meet the costs of their child’s basic needs has a detrimental impact on the health or development of a child then the trust will need to provide accommodation and/or financial support to the family in order to meet the child’s needs.
Article 18(1) places a general duty on a health and social care trusts:
(a) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within its area who are in need; and
(b) so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families,
by providing a range and level of social care appropriate to those children’s needs.
The Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland policy (Department of Health, August 2017) states that ‘fulfilling this duty is a key part of preventative safeguarding’.
Article 17 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order states that a child will be in need when:
(a) he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by an authority under this Part;
(b) his health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services; or
(c) he is disabled,
and “family”, in relation to such a child, includes any person who has parental responsibility for the child and any other person with whom he has been living.
The Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland policy explains how Article 17 is applied in practice:
In determining whether a child or young person is in need, consideration must be given to:
a) what will happen to a child or young person’s development and health without services being provided; and
b) the likely effect the services will have on the child or young person’s standard of health and development.
The English courts have found that a child who is homeless will be a ‘child in need’, and that a child who is lacking food, clothing, or suitable accommodation will be a child in need due to the adverse impact not having access to such things is likely to have on their health or development. For more information about the interpretation of the equivalent legislation in England, which could guide practice in Northern Ireland, see section 6.2.
Additionally, accommodation and financial support can be provided when this is necessary to prevent children within the authority’s area suffering ill-treatment or neglect.
Schedule 2, paragraph 5 (1) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order states:
Every authority shall take reasonable steps, through the provision of services under Part IV, to prevent children within the authority’s area suffering ill-treatment or neglect.
13.3 Assessing need
The general duty under article 18(1) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child in need applies to children within the HSC trust’s area.
Additionally, schedule 2 states that:
1 Every local authority shall take reasonable steps to identify the extent to which there are children in need within the authority’s area.
…
3 Where it appears to an authority that a child within the authority’s area is in need, the authority may assess his needs for the purposes of this Act at the same time as any assessment of his needs…
In England, the courts have interpreted the equivalent provision (under section 17 of the Children Act 1989) to mean that the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child in need applies when a child is physically present in the area. For more information about case law in England relating to the duty to assess need, see chapter 5.
A needs assessment must be undertaken in line with the Understanding the Needs of Children in Northern Ireland (UNOCINI) assessment framework (revised June 2011). The UNOCINI framework is currently under review.
The UNOCINI assessment framework states:
4.2 (4) All UNOCINI assessments and plans will be completed in partnership with the child and their family:
a. They will be child centred, showing clear evidence of engagement with the child and they will clearly identify and record the child’s needs, views and wishes.
b. The parent will be invited to participate and contribute in a meaningful manner and their views will be clearly recorded.
For children within no recourse to public funds households, a needs assessment must consider how the parent’s inability to obtain adequate accommodation or meet the costs of their child’s basic living needs impacts upon the child’s personal development and well-being, alongside any other factors affecting the child. To assist with their understanding of the impacts of poverty, social workers can refer to the Anti-Poverty Practice Framework (Department of Health, June 2018).
Article 18(8) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order states:
Before giving any assistance or imposing any conditions, an authority shall have regard to the means of the child concerned and of each of his parents.
The assessment therefore must also explore what funds and resources are available to the parent, taking into account the effect of any immigration restrictions that apply to the parent.
For more information about immigration restrictions and establishing a parent’s financial circumstances within a needs assessment, see chapter 6.
Under article 18, the local authority has a power to meet a child’s needs before the needs assessment has been completed. Therefore, interim accommodation and financial support can be provided to a family whilst the needs assessment is being undertaken. For more information about providing interim support, see section 4.2.
13.4 Meeting need
Article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order provides the HSC trust with a broad power to meet a child’s assessed welfare needs by providing services, financial support (subsistence) and accommodation. The support that is to be provided to a child and their family will need to be outlined in a family support plan.
The Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland policy states, at paragraph 4.4:
Social workers and other relevant professionals and agencies work with the child and his/her family and develop a ‘child in need plan’ to outline how the child’s needs will be met within their family context, including actions to be taken and by whom to ensure the child’s needs can continue to be met in the longer term.
Article 18(6) specifies that services ‘may include giving assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash’.
Article 18(3) enables the HSC trust to provide accommodation and financial support to the whole family, where this is in the interests of promoting a child’s welfare:
Any service provided by an authority in the exercise of functions conferred on it by this Article may be provided for the family of a particular child in need or for any member of his family, if the service is provided with a view to safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare.
The HSC trust is not limited with regards to the type of support that can be provided to meet a child’s needs under article 18.
Schedule 2, paragraph 9 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order states:
Every authority shall make such provision as the authority considers appropriate for the following services to be available with respect to children in need within the authority’s area while they are living with their families—
(a)advice, guidance and counselling;
(b)occupational, social, cultural or recreational activities;
(c)home help (which may include laundry facilities);
(d)facilities for, or assistance with, travelling to and from home for the purpose of taking advantage of any other service provided under this Order or of any similar service;
(e)assistance to enable the child concerned and his family to have a holiday.
In England, the courts have found that the absolute minimum level of support that a local authority should provide to a family with no recourse to public funds must not fall below the level of Home Office asylum support (plus the cost of utilities and council tax).
For more information about providing accommodation and financial support to meet a child’s needs, see chapter 8 (accommodation) and chapter 9 (subsistence).
13.5 Human rights assessments
When a parent has no lawful status in the UK, they will be subject to schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Schedule 3 places a bar on the provision of accommodation and financial support under article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order to a family, where the family can return to their country of origin to avoid destitution in the UK. This bar will be lifted when there is a legal barrier or practical obstacle preventing a family from returning to their country of origin. When schedule 3 applies, the HSC trust will need to undertake a human rights assessment in order to establish whether there are any barriers to return, such as a pending immigration application or appeal.
For more information about Schedule 3 and human rights assessments, see section 4.3. References in section 4.3 to ‘section 17 of the Children Act 1989’ can be replaced by ‘article 18 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995’.
13.6 Accessing immigration advice
When support is provided to a family with no recourse to public funds, it will be necessary to signpost a family to an immigration adviser. A parent without lawful status will need to find out what their options are and will require assistance with making an application. A parent who has leave to remain that is subject to a NRPF condition will need to find out whether they can apply for a change in immigration status that allows them to access to benefits and homelessness assistance.
In Northern Ireland, legal aid is available for immigration and asylum cases. Local voluntary & community organisations or the Law Centre Northern Ireland may be able to assist with some types of cases.
The HSC trust will need to signpost families to one of the following:
- A solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland who practices in immigration or asylum law
- An immigration adviser registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)
For more information about helping a family to identify and achieve a pathway off support, see chapter 9.
