Influencing the UK Child Poverty Strategy
Overview
Reducing child poverty is a central priority for the current government, but without addressing immigration policy, including No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), any strategy risks leaving hundreds of thousands of children behind.
The NRPF Partnership has been working across multiple fronts to ensure that the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy meaningfully reflects the realities facing migrant families, and takes steps to reduce, rather than entrench, poverty.
After almost a year of coordinated effort to influence the Government to ensure no child was left behind, and in solidarity with dozens of other organisations who were fighting this fight, when the Strategy was published last Autumn, it at least mentioned NRPF but we know this is simply not enough.
Why this matters
NRPF is a significant driver of child poverty in the UK. Without reform:
Children in migrant families remain excluded from the social safety net
Local authorities face increasing financial and service pressures
Poverty reduction efforts are undermined at a structural level
Ensuring NRPF is addressed within the Child Poverty Strategy is therefore essential to achieving meaningful and lasting change.
Our approach
Our work has focused on combining:
Lived experience leadership — ensuring families directly affected by NRPF shape policy conversations
Evidence and policy development — strengthening the case for reform through research and analysis
Coordinated advocacy — aligning sector organisations, parliamentarians, and local leaders
Strategic influencing — engaging decision-makers at key moments in the policy process
We have been engaging government directly.
On 12 February 2025, the Partnership convened a key roundtable with officials from the Child Poverty Unit, an important first opportunity to coordinate sector input into the strategy. This meeting brought together a cross-section of stakeholders, including:
Parents with lived experience of NRPF
Leading research institutions and policy organisations
Frontline service providers and advocacy groups
Participants included representatives from CASE-LSE, COMPAS, Asylum Matters, The Unity Project, Project 17, Praxis, IPPR, Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium, Bevan Foundation, and Citizens UK. This session helped to:
Elevate lived experience perspectives directly to policymakers
Build relationships with officials shaping the strategy
Align sector messaging and priorities
We have been driving policy influence across multiple fronts. Alongside direct engagement with government, the Partnership has coordinated a broad
programme of influencing activity:
Supporting MPs to table Written Parliamentary Questions to maintain pressure on ministers
Coordinating letters to the Child Poverty Taskforce ministerial co-chairs
Securing an Early Day Motion on NRPF and child poverty (with growing cross-party support)
Working with MPs to develop specific policy proposals, including reforms to improve access to social security for children affected by NRPF
Securing a Westminster Hall debate on NRPF and child poverty, led by Olivia Blake
We have been working to mobilise regional and local government leaders.
Engaging London Assembly Members, local authority leaders, and councillors
Coordinating a joint public letter to ministers highlighting the unfunded costs local authorities face due to NRPF-related statutory duties
Building a broader base of support for including NRPF within the Child Poverty Strategy
We are building an evidence base to support responsible and fair policy development.
Commissioning a Child Poverty Options Paper to outline actionable policy solutions
Producing a concise briefing for MPs to support parliamentary engagement
Submitting a response to the Scotland Child Poverty Strategy and Delivery Plan consultation
Commissioning further analysis on the relationship between earned settlement proposals and child poverty
We are working to shape and influence the public narrative around child poverty.
Identifying and supporting MPs to author op-eds following publication of the Child Poverty Strategy
Working to strengthen public understanding of how immigration policy intersects with child poverty
Resources
You can explore the Partnership’s work and pieces of commissioned analysis below:
Child Poverty Options Paper (full report)
MP Briefing on Child Poverty and NRPF(summary of key policy options)
Analysis by IPPR and Landman Economics: Earned Settlement Proposals and Child Poverty
Also, you can read this article for more information on how cross-party politicians are urging ministers to include children from migrant families in Government strategy for tackling child poverty.
Looking ahead
The Partnership will continue to:
Work with policymakers to ensure NRPF is meaningfully addressed
Support coordinated advocacy across the sector
Amplify the voices of families affected
Push for practical, evidence-based solutions that reduce poverty and promote inclusion
Get involved
We welcome engagement from organisations, policymakers, and community groups who want to support this work. If you are interested in collaborating or learning more, please get in touch.
