Today’s publication of Ending Destitution Together, the anti-destitution strategy from the Scottish Government and COSLA, is timely, welcome and implementing it must be a priority for any new Scottish Government.
Its recommendations are essential to a fully inclusive and safe recovery from COVID-19 that brings all communities in Scotland with them, and leaves no one behind.
The full report is available on the Scottish Government website.
The strategy focuses on support for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) in the context of Scottish devolution.
Its key recommendations include:
- Piloting a Hardship Fund to support people with NRPF across Scotland who are facing crisis situations.
- Ending homelessness for people who are NRPF and destitute asylum seekers as part of the wider ambition under the Everyone Home Collective to end destitution in Scotland.
- Investing in the provision of diagnostic legal advice and advocacy support for people subject to NRPF and increasing access to specialist immigration advice to support local authorities assisting people with NRPF.
- Improving access to primary health and mental health services and working with Public Health Scotland to address health inequalities experienced by people subject to NRPF.
The no recourse to public funds (NRPF) regime is the antithesis of a public health approach to this recovery. It has no place in a civilised society. This strategy, the first of its kind in the UK, should be a catalyst for a UK-wide campaign to end NRPF and empower individuals to regain control of their lives.
Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive, Scottish Refugee Council said: “From the inception of this project, with the Hidden Lives New Beginnings report, we have been proud to join a collective rejection of the notion that migrant destitution was inevitable in Scotland. There is a great deal that we in Scotland, with devolved powers, can do to tackle destitution.
“Every day, our own anti-destitution services are busy helping those at the sharp end of the UK Government’s senseless NRPF regime, which if unchallenged, persists in pushing vulnerable people into homelessness. NRPF has no place in modern Scottish society, and is a serious risk to the public health approach needed to make a societal recovery from COVID-19.
“This strategy is a firm declaration that we in Scotland will not leave behind men, women and children in the margins of society. We will not accept their health and wellbeing plummeting into crisis. We will not abandon them to exploitation.
“Practically, this strategy recognises that people at risk or already rendered destitute, through NRPF, desperately need an accessible, humane and multi-agency support package – a humanitarian safety net – so they get the personalised support the need.
“We are confident that, in publishing Ending Destitution Together, that the Scottish Government and CoSLA recognise the gravity of the moment. This strategy recognises that the stakes are high, and that concrete steps are necessary to improve the lives of people who are currently denied the very basics of UK Government assistance because of their immigration status. It presents a crucial step towards working together to bringing a true end to destitution in Scotland.”
The Refugees Ending Destitution Group, which met throughout 2020 with CoSLA and the Scottish Government and helped co-produce the strategy, is supported by Scottish Refugee Council and Govan Community Project and is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
