Government's immigration policy leaves families facing destitution as energy price rises bite

Praxis is deeply concerned that the Government’s punitive No Recourse to Public Funds policy leaves many of the poorest in our society facing serious risk of destitution and homelessness as the worst income squeeze in a generation begins to bite.

Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Praxis, says:

“Even before prices began to spiral out of control, our advisers were already seeing people struggling to make ends meet every single day, as a result of the NRPF policy which prevents them from accessing most types of welfare benefits, even if they’re living in poverty. As the energy price cap rise comes into effect today, we are really concerned that even more of the people we work with are going to be pushed into destitution, and even homelessness.

We already know that the support put in place by Government is simply not enough to help people living on low incomes. But people affected by the Government’s No Recourse to Public Funds policy, many of whom also live on very low incomes, have no safety net to fall back on.

We believe that everyone deserves access to a safety net, so that a crisis like the one we’re experiencing at the moment does not leave people with nothing. That’s why we’re urging the Government to scrap the No Recourse to Public Funds policy.”

Anna Berry, a member of the No Recourse to Public Funds action group at Praxis, says:

“If people are struggling already, do they now have to choose between food and gas? It’s like you are in constant battle all the time in order to be able to survive: food, internet, everything is going up, and that hits especially hard for those who have No Recourse to Public Funds and those not earning enough.

The government knows it’s hard on people - I don’t know how hard we can spell it out.

It’s time for the government to make sure that everyone has access to a safety net: No Recourse to Public Funds has to be scrapped, so that everyone can stay warm and feed themselves.”