Today a Divisional Court has held that the Home Office’s No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) scheme as it relates to parents on the ten-year route to settlement is unlawful as it breaches Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment). The High Court is yet to give a full judgment or decision on remedies. 

PLP barristers Bijan Hoshi and Ollie Persey acted for the charity Project 17 which intervened in the case. The intervention drew upon Project 17’s extensive evidence base to highlight that section 17 Children Act 1989 does not provide an adequate safety net against the risk of destitution created by the NRPF scheme in this context. Bijan and Ollie were led by Amanda Weston QC of Garden Court Chambers (acting pro bono) and our work was funded by a grant from the Strategic Legal Fund. The Claimant is represented by Deighton Pierce Glynn and Alex Goodman of Landmark Chambers. More information about the case is available here.