Social reproduction in the shadows: Making lives with 'no recourse to public funds' (Shadows)

Around 2 million people in the UK are subject to the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) rule, an immigration restriction being rapidly expanded as a result of Brexit and the Nationality and Borders Bill. NRPF, which affects undocumented migrants and most migrants with time-limited residency, prohibits access to mainstream welfare benefits, social housing, and other support including free school meals. The little existing research on NRPF has shown that it traps migrants in destitution, often for many years, particularly mothers and children from Britain's former colonies (e.g., Nigeria and Jamaica) who are already experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Many mothers affected by NRPF are not allowed to work because of their migration status or because they cannot access childcare. With the only potential state support coming from cash-strapped local authorities under the Children Act 1989, which in practice is minimal and difficult to access, families are often left homeless and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Charities such as The Children's Society point out that unaccompanied young people - who come to the UK as children without parents - face similar problems if they are unable to regularise their migration status before turning 18, at which point they become subject to NRPF.

This timely project asks: how do families and unaccompanied young people with insecure migration status survive in these circumstances? How does NRPF impact the ways they make and sustain their lives over time? What is the relationship between ideas about who children are and should be in this context (e.g., children as requiring 'protection'), and the daily lives of different groups of children affected by NRPF? How can analysis of historical and current policy help to explain the purposes, persistence, and expansion of NRPF? And, how can this advance understanding of how NRPF shapes present-day experiences in order to inform ongoing policy debate?

Previous research on NRPF has focused on peak moments of crisis when families seek support from charities or local government. Yet, NRPF has to be navigated daily and its impacts are potentially deep and enduring. The Shadows project will make a new contribution by exploring the everyday impacts of NRPF over an extended period. Our previous research suggests there is a discrepancy between how children are perceived as needing care and protection, and how everyday life actually unfolds for migrant children. For example, children affected by NRPF spoke of skipping meals, doing homework on mobile phones, and living in inadequate accommodation, despite receiving support under the Children Act 1989. Our findings show that even though children feel and understand how precarious their daily lives are because of their migration status, they are rarely asked about their experiences. In response to this, our research will involve parents with NRPF and two distinct groups of young research participants affected by NRPF - unaccompanied young people and those living with parents. This is an original approach, particularly as research, policy, and practice generally treat these groups as separate. We will conduct long-term fieldwork and interviews and use creative methods such as photography. Alongside this, we will examine past and present policy discourses around NRPF, generating knowledge about how and why NRPF continues to be expanded despite knowledge of its detrimental impacts.

Working with civil society organisations supporting people with NRPF, including our Project Partners -Displaced Collective, Kent Refugee Action Network, Project 17, and South London Refugee Association - and some of our participants, we will collectively analyse and disseminate robust evidence about NRPF's long-term impacts through open-access online, print, and arts-based materials. In so doing, we will enhance practice, shape policy, and inform public debate about migrants' access to welfare support.