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Briefing

Fair Way Scotland evaluation: year one

These are the key findings from the first year of Fair Way Scotland – an action learning partnership aiming to design out destitution for people with restricted eligibility for state support, or subject to No Recourse to Public Funds in Scotland.

Written by:
Beth Watts-Cobbe, Senior Research Fellow, I-SPHERE, Heriot Watt University and Deborah Hay, Senior Policy Adviser, JRF
Date published:

You can read the full report here.

Recommendations:

The UK Government must

  • End destitution by design within the immigration and asylum systems and commit to an urgent change of course. No-one should ever be destitute in the UK.
  • Enable local and devolved Governments to provide a basic safety net for all, regardless of immigration status, through revised guidance and adequate funding.

The Scottish Government should

  • Assert clearer political leadership on this issue: that Scotland does not tolerate people being forced into rough sleeping, destitution, and other harms as a result of UK policy. Build on the emphasis in the Green-SNP cooperation agreement, which had better support for people subject to NRPF, as a priority.
  • Convene and engage independent funders, housing providers, local authorities, and health partners to help anchor and scale Fair Way. All partners’ contribution will be needed if we are to end destitution and homelessness for all.

Local authority and health partners should

  • Maximise their powers consistently to step in and support all those they can, who have No Recourse to Public Funds or other Restricted Eligibility – to minimise the scale of the challenge facing Fair Way partners.

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