Mayor urges ministers to choose compassion over cruelty for homeless

06 November 2020

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today stands with councils and civil society groups from across London and the UK urging the Government to scrap ‘deeply immoral’ plans to remove rough sleeping migrants from the UK simply for not having a home.

In a letter to the Home Secretary Priti Patel and Housing Minister Robert Jenrick, signed by 27 representatives of local authorities and London-based charities, Sadiq criticises new immigration rules announced recently by the Home Office. Under this legislation, set to be introduced before the end of the Brexit transition period, migrant rough sleepers could have their leave to remain cancelled or refused, resulting in them being deported.

These measures will deter already vulnerable people from seeking help in rebuilding their lives off the street and put them at greater risk of exploitation and infection from Covid-19.

The Mayor also speaks up for the rights of some of the most vulnerable Londoners: homeless non-UK nationals with limited access to mainstream support. This inability to access state support makes them more vulnerable to destitution and it makes it incredibly difficult for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods, some as a result of Covid-19, to find a path off the streets and into secure accommodation.

In London it is thought that up to 60 per cent of people sleeping rough may be in this situation, meaning the homelessness crisis can never truly be solved while these inequalities and restrictive hostile policies exist.

The signatories to the Mayor’s letter, including Crisis, Housing Justice and Migrants’ Rights Network, point out that while City Hall, charities and councils carried out unprecedented work as part of the ‘Everyone In’ programme at the start of the pandemic, the Covid-19 crisis has placed extreme pressure on already-stretched resources. Local authorities cannot afford to accommodate non-UK nationals with no or limited entitlements on an indefinite basis and charities are operating at reduced capacity.

Measures taken as part of the ‘Everyone In’ programme resulted in very low Covid-19 infection rates amongst homeless people in London. Without additional measures that allow all those unable to self-isolate, including all non-UK nationals, to access appropriate support, there is a real risk that we will see soaring Covid-19 infection rates among homeless people spreading to the wider community as a result.

The letter sets out five key proposals to alleviate the coming crisis:

Scrap plans for rough sleeping to become grounds for refusal or cancellation of permission to be in the UK.
Suspend all immigration-based exclusions from welfare and homelessness assistance to adapt to these exceptional times.
Take action to prevent European Londoners from becoming undocumented by extending the deadline to apply for settled status.
Take all necessary measures to avoid pushing refugees and asylum seekers into homelessness.
Properly fund self-contained, COVID-secure accommodation which we know is the safest way to protect those who would otherwise be sleeping rough from both the pandemic and the winter weather.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “The injustice and cruelty exhibited by the proposed new immigration laws is a chilling reminder of how the most vulnerable people in our society can be targeted when those in power don’t believe anyone will notice or care.

“I’m proud to stand with the signatories of this letter in telling ministers that we do care and we will not let those without a voice be quietly removed from our city and deported simply for finding themselves homeless.

“It is not too late for the Government to act and show some compassion that is desperately needed in these difficult times.”

Kathy Mohan, OBE, CEO of Housing Justice said: “Faith based and grassroots night shelters are a key area of support for foreign nationals experiencing rough sleeping.

“These organisations and the community groups, churches, mosques and synagogues who support them will be deeply concerned at reports that rough sleeping could be grounds for removal from the UK for foreign nationals.

“This risks making some of the most vulnerable even more so, at a time of national crisis and needs to be reconsidered immediately”

Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link: “We support the united call to reverse these counterproductive plans. The new rules will not help to end rough sleeping, but only serve to dehumanise and criminalise people for not having a place to call home. As has happened with similar policies in the past, the rules risk undermining trust in our members, homeless charities providing vital support during difficult times, and cause people to avoid seeking help in the first place.

“They will affect a spectrum of people, living in this country for a range of reasons, with victims of modern slavery particularly susceptible.

“If the Government is truly committed to ending rough sleeping, they should focus instead on working with us and our members to address the root causes of homelessness and provide the range of support that people need.”

Jun Pang, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Liberty, said: “The Government’s determination to pursue and expand the Hostile Environment is putting ever more people at risk.

“If you become homeless, you should be able to ask for the help you are due, regardless of your legal status. You should not have to fear that you will be detained and deported if you do so.

“It should go without saying that during the winter of a deadly pandemic, it is even more dangerous and punishing to cut people off from any avenue of support, and risks forming part of this public health crisis.

“The Government must scrap these proposals, end the toxic Hostile Environment, and ensure that our homelessness strategy helps everyone.”

Notes to editors

The Mayor’s intervention comes on the same day that 77 groups have signed up to a letter from Crisis, highlighting similar criticism of the new migration rules and urging the Home Secretary and Housing Secretary to reconsider.

LIST OF SIGNATORIES

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development

Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Executive member for Welfare, Empowerment and Inclusion, London Councils

Cllr Darren Rodwell, Executive Member for Housing and Planning, London Councils

Crisis

Council of Somali Organisations

East European Resource Centre

Evolve Housing + Support

Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)

Glass Door

Homeless Link

Housing Justice

Latin American Women's Rights Service

Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network

Liberty

Migrants' Rights Network

New Europeans

NRPF Network

Open Doors

Praxis

Refugees at Home

Roma Support Group

Safer London

Seraphus

Settled

Single Homeless Project (SHP)

Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers

Spear

Thames Reach

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

Refugee & Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL)

FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER

Dear Priti and Robert,

We are writing to you as local government and civil society organisations to urge you to reverse deeply concerning plans to use rough sleeping as a ground to remove certain migrants from the UK. Instead, we urge you to take compassionate and exceptional measures to avoid thousands of non-UK nationals falling into destitution and street homelessness during a global pandemic and the deepest recession in generations.

A significant proportion of non-UK nationals cannot access either welfare benefits or homelessness assistance in the UK. As a result, their accommodation and support options are extremely limited. The solution is for the Government to increase support for this group, not to strengthen policies that would further limit their access to essential services.

The Greater London Authority (GLA), London boroughs and civil society organisations acted swiftly to accommodate and support thousands of London’s rough sleepers, regardless of immigration status, in response to the pandemic. We did this with central government support under the “Everyone In” programme to respond to an unprecedented public health emergency. This emergency is still ongoing, but funding put in place by the Government is coming to an end, and measures like the suspension of asylum cessations and the ban on evictions have been lifted. No alternative measures have been put in place to allow all destitute non-UK nationals to access mainstream support.

Changes to the Immigration Rules making rough sleeping a legal ground to cancel or refuse permission to be in the UK from 1^st December will deter already vulnerable people from seeking help to rebuild their lives off the streets, and put them at greater risk of exploitation and infection from Covid-19. Although the rules currently have limited application, they set a dangerous precedent and rather than supporting people to come off the streets, these new rules will punish rough sleepers simply for not having a home.

Draft legislation suggests EU citizens who do not satisfy the EEA Regulations 2016 and have not yet obtained status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) will not be able to continue to work and live their lives in the UK as they do now after the end of the transition period. This will impact many homeless EU nationals who are less likely to be currently exercising treaty rights and who might become undocumented from January 2021, making it more difficult to find routes off the streets. The 31^st December marks not only the end of the transition period, but also the end of the suspension of derogation which has allowed some support to be provided for EEA nationals. This may see support provision for vulnerable EU rough sleepers substantially reduced at a crucial time.

The Covid-19 crisis has placed extreme pressure on already-stretched local authorities who in most cases cannot afford to accommodate non-UK nationals with no or limited entitlements on an indefinite basis. Civil society organisations are reporting reduced capacity and uncertainty about how services can operate safely within Covid-19 restrictions. This includes the network of night shelters with shared sleeping spaces, which this year will be substantially reduced as they are not Covid-secure.

The Government must withdraw the new Immigration Rules and instead urgently implement measures to allow all those unable to self-isolate, including all non-UK nationals, to access appropriate support. Our proposals are as follows:

Reverse plans for rough sleeping to become grounds for refusal or cancellation of permission to be in the UK. We urge you to reconsider these changes to the Immigration Rules to ensure people are not subject to removal on the basis of not having a home.

Suspend all immigration-based exclusions from welfare and homelessness assistance to adapt to these exceptional times. We suggest that you suspend the Habitual Residence Test, so that European Economic Area (EEA) citizens do not need to prove their ‘right to reside’ to access benefits that will help them to cover living and housing costs. We also ask you to suspend the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, so that those currently subject to it can access benefits and homelessness assistance during this time.

Take action to prevent European Londoners from becoming undocumented. We urge you to:
1. extend the grace period protections to all EU citizens and their family members already living in UK before the end of the transition period;
2. extend the deadline to apply for EUSS to account for the difficulties faced by vulnerable EU citizens during the pandemic;
3. extend funding linked to the suspension of derogation beyond 31 December;

Take all necessary measures to avoid pushing refugees and asylum seekers into homelessness. We urge you to extend the move-on period for newly recognised refugees from 28 days to 56 days to bring it in line with local authorities’ duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act. We also ask you to stop issuing cessation letters until it can be shown that all options have been explored to avoid the person becoming destitute and street homeless.

Properly fund self-contained, COVID-secure accommodation which we know is the safest way to protect those who would otherwise be sleeping rough during this period. The £10m recently announced for winter provision for rough sleepers will be inadequate to ensure rough sleepers have access to Covid-secure accommodation this winter.

Measures taken as part of the ‘Everyone In’ programme resulted in very low Covid-19 infection rates amongst homeless people in London [1]. Without a robust plan, including legislative changes, there is a real risk that all the positive work we have jointly done will be undermined, and that we will see soaring Covid-19 infection rates among rough sleepers spreading to the wider community as a result.

We would welcome an urgent response on the points raised in this letter.

Yours sincerely,