Published: 5th May 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating existing problems in unfair systems which disproportionately impact on poor and marginalised groups. Since the start of the pandemic, PLP has been providing public law support to frontline organisations that are attempting to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged groups. Two issues that PLP has worked with civil society organisations on are immigration bail reporting conditions and No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions. Immigration Bail Reporting Before the pandemic, PLP was working with Migrants Organise to address discriminatory immigration bail reporting conditions. Following the introduction of social distancing measures, PLP assisted Migrants Organise and Helen Bamber Foundation to request that reporting conditions be suspended for the duration of the pandemic. These letters were supported by dozens of migrants’ rights organisations. On 24 March 2020, the Home Office issued a notice on the gov.uk website that immigration bail reporting conditions have been temporarily suspended while it reviews how frequently people should report during the COVID-19 pandemic. NRPF PLP is working closely with Project 17, The Unity Project and other frontline organisations to address public law issues with the NRPF scheme. We assisted these charities to make a request calling for the NRPF scheme to be suspended for the duration of the pandemic. PLP is representing Project 17 in an intervention in R (W, a child by his Litigation Friend J) v Secretary of State for the Home Department. This is a claim for judicial review challenging the NRPF scheme as it applies to individuals on the ten-year route to settlement on the basis of being a parent. Project 17 has been granted permission to make oral submissions at the hearing, which will be held 6-7 May 2020. Project 17’s intervention draws upon their extensive evidence base to highlight that 1) Section 17 Children Act 1989 support is not an effective safety net to prevent destitution when a family is subject to an NRPF condition; 2) The risk of destitution caused by NRPF conditions is exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Project 17 is represented by Amanda Weston QC of Garden Court Chambers and PLP counsel Bijan Hoshi and Ollie Persey. Amanda Weston QC is kindly acting pro bono and PLP’s work is funded by a grant from the Strategic Legal Fund. Project 17’s press release about their intervention can be found here. The Claimant is represented by Adam Hundt of Deighton Peirce Glynn and further information about the case can be found here. To find out more about PLP’s work around addressing systemic unfairness during the COVID-19 pandemic, please email Ollie Persey.