British - to be or not to be?
Inequality has made our children’s futures blurred
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. Now again, 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.
Illustration by Javie Huxley
“Without support, how can I raise a balanced child?”
Without a safety net for us and our children, we live in constant anxiety and stress. This affects our children negatively - an unbalanced parent will raise an unbalanced child. Many women who find themselves in this situation are forced to remain in abusive relationships just to have a source of income and a roof over their heads.
There are physical as well as psychological impacts. We do not have the means to provide our children with healthy food, so they grow up eating junk food and unhealthy food, leading to poor health and increased risk of chronic conditions. And because we have to work longer hours to support our families, as single mothers we can’t spend time with our children. We are not there to support them emotionally and physically and can only work hard to provide the best that we can for them - and as single mothers with young children this is almost never enough.
“How do you explain to a child that they cannot have hot school meals with the other children at their school?”
These children are the future of this country, yet because of the No Recourse to Public Funds rules, they will be forced to grow up in unsafe and insecure environments. How do you explain to a child that they cannot have hot school meals with the other children at their school? How do you explain to a child that they are not entitled to extracurricular activities, like football or after-school clubs? How do you explain to a child that they are not entitled to free school trips? Some British children are treated differently from other British children, and are suffering because their parents do not have access to public funds. NRPF is a label and our children are treated unequally.
Children with special needs require special care, access to wellbeing programmes and a comfortable home. There is no system in place to protect children with special needs from the discrimination of NRPF. They are regularly placed in small rooms in a shared house or a studio flat with no access to a garden. This limits their movement and can hinder their development.
Without public funds, the working parents - often single mothers - of these children have no other choice but to leave them in the care of unregistered child minders and friends who most times are not trained to look after children with special educational needs properly. They are unable to access nursery funding and so do not qualify for the early education and socialization provided in a nursery setting unless they have a social worker.
“Access to a safety net should not be a privilege but a basic human right.”
Children with additional needs are entitled to disability allowance which helps the parents to pay for recreational activities, basic leisure, and special toys. However, parents without access to public funds do not get this kind of assistance. Children are often left to adapt to everyday life without the basic support they need.
No Recourse to Public Funds affects immigrants from every corner of UK society. The people that are affected the most are children, people with disabilities and single parents. People who are already vulnerable. The staff at your favourite supermarket may not have access to help with childcare, your nurse may be facing this issue. Your mother's favourite carer may be living in an overcrowded house because of NRPF. Your child’s best friend may not be eligible for a warm school meal. Access to a safety net should not be a privilege but a basic human right.
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