Freedom of information (FOI) disclosure log

Date Sent: September 13, 2026

Conclusion:

Description: I am an intern at the University of Birmingham working with David Stark on a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project examining the longitudinal impact of No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) restrictions on child health and development. As part of this research, we are seeking to understand the forms of assistance and support provided by local authority Children's Services departments to families with NRPF who receive support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. We are particularly interested in variations in support provided to families who are subject to the eligibility restrictions contained in Schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, compared with families who are not subject to those restrictions, including in the context of the High Court judgment in The King (on the application of BCD by his Litigation Friend EFG) v Birmingham Children's Trust [2024]. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would be grateful if you could provide the following information: 1. Please provide the number of families with dependent children, where a parent or carer is subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, who were receiving support from your Children's Services department(s) under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 from July 29th 2025 to July 29th 2026. 2. Please provide the total number of children within the families identified in Question 1 who were receiving support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 from July 29th 2025 to July 29th 2026. 3. Please provide the number of families with NRPF supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 from July 29th 2025 to July 29th 2026, who were receiving financial support at a level broadly equivalent to Home Office asylum support rates or another basic subsistence-only rate. 4. Please provide the number of families with NRPF supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 from July 29th 2025 to July 29th 2026, who were receiving financial support at a level broadly equivalent to mainstream welfare benefit rates, fostering allowances, or another enhanced welfare-based rate. 5. Please provide, for the period 29 July 2025 to 29 July 2026: a) The total number of families with dependent children, where a parent or carer was subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, who approached your Children's Services department seeking financial support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. b) Of the families identified in (a), the number who received financial support following assessment under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. c) Of the families identified in (a), the number who were refused financial support following assessment under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. d) Where recorded, the number of families refused support because they were considered ineligible for assistance owing to the provisions of Schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. If your authority records requests, assessments, or presentations under different terminology, please provide the closest equivalent data held. 6. Please provide details of the financial support rates, allowances, scales, or policies applicable to families with NRPF who receive the type of support referred to in Question 3, including any schedule showing amounts by household size, age of child, or other relevant criteria. 7. Please provide details of the financial support rates, allowances, scales, or policies applicable to families with NRPF who receive the type of support referred to in Question 4, including any schedule showing amounts by household size, age of child, or other relevant criteria. 8. Please provide the number of families supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 during the period of July 29th 2025 to July 29th 2026 where: • a parent or carer was subject to NRPF; • the family was subject to the eligibility restrictions contained in Schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; and • following an assessment of need, the family was receiving financial support above a basic subsistence-only level. 9. Please provide copies of any current policies, guidance documents, assessment frameworks, or procedural documents used by your authority in determining financial support levels for families with NRPF under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. If holding the information in the exact format requested would exceed the appropriate cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise and provide any information available within the limit. If any part of this request is unclear, please get in touch so I may assist in refining it. Please send your response to David Stark (d.r.stark [at]bham.ac.uk) and copy me (a.osun[at]bham.ac.uk) into any correspondence relating to this request.

Attachments: FOI_Response 976.doc