On Wednesday 11 March, Homeless Link joined a mass lobby event in Parliament to oppose proposed immigration and settlement reforms which risk increasing homelessness.
Organised by Homeless LInk member Praxis and the NRPF (No Recourse to Public Funds) Partnership, the event enabled dozens of charities and community groups to explain to their local MPs why the changes would harm the people they support. Many of the people using those services joined the lobby as well, setting out how and why the changes would impact them directly.
A number of Homeless Link members joined us in attending, highlighting how proposed “earned settlement” reforms are likely to drive more people into homelessness.
Homeless Link has responded to Government consultations around these changes and stated clearly that the proposals, if implemented, will lead to more migrant homelessness and rough sleeping.
Fiona Colley, Director of Social Change at Homeless Link, attended the event and comments:
“The Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness rightly makes all branches of Government responsible for ending and preventing homelessness. Unfortunately, a number of the immigration reforms being proposed by Ministers risk undermining that laudable aim.”
“Non-UK nationals are already at heightened risk of becoming homeless due to the strains and barriers – financial, emotional, physical and other – the immigration system places upon them. The proposals to make paths to permanent citizenship longer, more difficult and more expensive will only drive up already disproportionately high rates of homelessness amongst refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.”
