An eight-year-old British boy has today won a ruling that a Home Office policy denying families like his access to the welfare safety net is unlawful
In a high court challenge that was supported by the Unity Project, a charity established to support families facing destitution as a result of the Home Office’s policy not to allow recourse to public funds (“NRPF”), it was argued on the boy’s behalf that NRPF is unlawful because it increases public health risks and causes families to move into overcrowded, unsuitable accommodation or makes them homeless and as such amounts to inhumane and degrading treatment.
Under the NRPF policy introduced in 2012 by the then home secretary, Theresa May, migrants granted the legal right to live and work in the UK on the basis of strong family ties are prohibited from receiving the state support such as child and housing benefits or tax credits that are designed to help other low-earning parents to make ends meet.
The judges in the case heard that the boy had lived his entire life in extreme poverty because his mother’s wages as a carer were not sufficient for her to keep her son properly housed and fed. The boy had moved school five times and had been rendered homeless with his mother, due to the Home Office’s refusal to allow them access to the social security safety net. This had also caused the mother to incur substantial debt and caused her to suffer from anxiety.
The decision by the senior judges is expected to provide a lifeline to people unable to work during the pandemic who are currently blocked from accessing essential state support. A detailed order setting out the steps the Home Office will need to take to comply with the judges’ ruling is expected to be published shortly.
