Scotland is enriched by the diversity of its communities and benefits significantly from the contribution that migrants and their families make to our society, economy and local areas. Our obligations to promote and respect human rights extend to every child and adult living in Scotland; as do our commitments to deliver high quality services to all of our communities.
Under successive pieces of UK legislation, basic rights and entitlements to public services have been restricted for people with insecure immigration status. ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ policies in particular have denied some people living in Scotland access to social security, housing and homelessness assistance in times of crisis. This approach disproportionally affects
vulnerable people and is at odds with the Scottish Government and Local Government’s aims, including to eradicate child poverty and create a fairer Scotland.
We recognise that there is a need to work more closely together, across our two spheres of government, to support vulnerable people with insecure immigration status and to make sure that they do not become destitute. Local authorities in particular, provide a vital safety net in
these circumstances, including to families with children, adults with physical and mental health issues and survivors of domestic abuse. We know that this is a challenging area of service delivery and creates specific pressures for our social services.
The guidance seeks to strengthen understanding of the complex legal frameworks that shape eligibility to support and considers good practice at a time of limited resources. In March 2021, the Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published the Ending Destitution Together Strategy. This national strategy aims to improve support for people with no recourse to public funds, who are at risk of destitution. In order to achieve this, the strategy sets out a series of actions to strengthen the way people are supported to meet their essential needs and to be included in society.
This revised guidance fulfils a commitment to update the 2019 guidance on migrants’ rights and entitlements. This will continue support for local authority provision of services to people with no recourse to public funds, as well as supporting statutory agencies and our community partners, to reduce the risks of destitution in Scotland.
Emma Roddick MSP
Minister for Equalities, Migration
and Refugees
Cllr Maureen Chalmers
COSLA Community Wellbeing
Spokesperson
This guidance was commissioned by COSLA to support Scottish local authorities.
The guidance does not attempt to provide an exhaustive statement of the relevant law, nor is it a substitute for legal advice either generally or in relation to individual cases. The guidance does provide relevant information for
practitioners when assessing needs and providing accommodation and financial support to people with no recourse to public funds, as set out in the Introduction (Section 1).
The guidance was written by NRPF Network and JustRight Scotland in February 2019, and further updated in August 2023 by JustRight Scotland. It was funded by the Scottish Government. The document will be updated to reflect significant changes in policy and legislation.
Any person or organisation wishing to reproduce any section of this guidance must contact COSLA MPD team to request permission.