Document Tag: destitution

Understanding destitution and homelessness in the asylum and immigration system (2024-2025)

A DATA BRIEFING FROM THE NACCOM NETWORK
Understanding destitution and homelessness in the asylum and immigration system
2024 / 2025

The new annual survey from NACCOM (The No Accommodation Network) reveals how thousands of people in the UK are routinely experiencing trauma and hardship as a direct result of the hostile and failing immigration and asylum policies of consecutive governments, gaps in the welfare safety net, and the chronic lack of social and affordable housing – with frontline organisations struggling to meet unprecedented levels of need. Read the full report. (External link: The Naccom Network)

A Fair Way Forward: An evaluation of an action learning partnership tackling the impacts of UK immigration policy on destitution and homelessness in Scotland (2025)

The latest annual evaluation of Fair Way Scotland shows groundbreaking evidence of the partnership’s impact in responding to the homelessness and extreme destitution experienced by people denied mainstream support because of their immigration status.

Led by Prof Beth Watts-Cobbe at the Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research (I-SPHERE), A Fair Way Forward sets out the depth of need among those with No Recourse to Public Funds or restricted eligibility and shows how investing in Fair Way Scotland’s approach can save public money.

Fair Way combines specialist casework, cash support and access to community-based accommodation, helping people to meet basic needs and regularise their status. But demand exceeds what current resources can meet – around 4,000 people across Scotland are estimated to require this type of support each year, with around a quarter of that number currently receiving it.

At a webinar launching the new report, Scottish Government, local authorities, funders and charities explored how to build on Fair Way’s achievements. Read the report here ( external link : Heriot-Watt University) to find out what this year’s report uncovered and recommended next steps.

Ending Destitution Together Progress Report – Year Two (2022-2023)

Ending Destitution Together (EDT) aims to improve outcomes and support options for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) living in Scotland. The strategy was developed jointly by Scottish Government and COSLA and published on 24 March 2021. Engagement to inform the development of the strategy included input from frontline staff in third sector support organisations, local authorities, public services, legal practitioners and people with lived experience of NRPF and destitution. The strategy will run until 2024 and is being delivered in partnership between the Scottish Government and COSLA. The strategy builds on an inquiry by the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee and its report: Hidden Lives – New Beginnings. It takes a preventative approach that aims to support people to resolve the issues they face before they reach a point of crisis. For people who experience destitution, it aims to improve the safety nets that are available in Scotland.

Contents

  • Strategy Delivery and Implementation
  • Essential Needs
  • Advice and Advocacy
  • Inclusion
  • Looking ahead
  • Continued commitment
  • UK Legislative Changes

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