British - to be or not to be?
“All we are asking for is a decent home”
Praxis runs peer-led groups where people with lived experience of migration can seek support and campaign to get their voices heard on issues that affect them. The WINGS group is for mothers with young children. In July 2020, they spoke in parliament at the All Party Parliamentary Group on No Recourse to Public Funds, chaired by MP Kate Osamor and organised by Just Fair and Project 17. Here, they speak out in their own words against the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) provision in a series of blogs, denouncing the many ways it impacts them.
Tower in Haggerston, London. Photo by Ben Allan on Unsplash
Because the Government has a duty of care towards all children, single mums on NRPF can be supported through what’s called Section 17 – a provision in the Children’s Act which gives power to local authorities to provide accommodation and financial support to families with children in need, including those who have no recourse to public funds. However, there are many reports that have found the accommodation provided through Section 17 to be woefully inadequate.
One single mum in WINGS has three children in one bedroom with her, in an overcrowded house shared with other people. Her older child who is 16 years old is struggling to deal with classes due to the siblings distracting him. The child of another mum in WINGS has developed asthma due to the poor living conditions her and her family face.
“Having no access to public funds means that single mothers and children from immigrant homes are twice as likely to end up in destitution.”
These are not unusual situations, and it happens time and time again. It is very common for families supported through Section 17 to be moved multiple times in close succession, and for landlords to refuse people with NRPF as tenants.
Having no access to public funds means that single mothers and children from immigrant homes are twice as likely to end up in destitution. This forces us to work without a safety net, and the government knows that we have a lower quality of life because of it.
All we are asking is for our families to have access to a decent home. The government can be challenged on Universal Credit and the hardship it puts people through, and it also needs to be challenged on NRPF. That’s why we are speaking up to decision-makers and parliamentarians wherever we can.
Want to know more about what we do? We are participating in a webinar on Friday 16 October to talk about the barriers migrants face to access food. Join us for the event and register today!