Practice guidance

Our practice guidance, assessing and supporting adults with no recourse to public funds is essential reading for social workers and other practitioners responsible for assessing and meeting the care and support needs of adults who cannot access benefits or local authority housing assistance due to their immigration status. The guidance is supported by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association. 

The guidance sets out how social care legislation in England applies to adults with no recourse to public funds and how immigration legislation must be taken into consideration by councils across the UK when delivering social care, including accommodation and financial support.

Content includes:

• Assessing and meeting need under the Care Act 2014 when an adult or carer has no recourse to public funds
• Providing mental health aftercare and NHS continuing healthcare to people with no recourse to public funds
• Discharging patients from hospital who are experiencing homelessness and have no recourse to public funds 
• Establishing a long-term pathway off support when accommodation and financial support is provided

Read the guidance.

Our practice guidance, assessing and supporting children and families with no recourse to public funds is essential reading for social workers, social care managers and other staff who are responsible for assessing need and delivering accommodation and financial support to families who cannot access benefits or local authority housing assistance due to their immigration status. The guidance is supported by the Association of Directors of Children's Services and the Local Government Association.

Content includes:

• Comprehensive information about the statutory framework and case law that sets out how section 17 of the Children Act 1989 applies to supporting families with no recourse to public funds
• Dedicated chapters for councils in Scotland and Wales, and for health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland, setting out the equivalent statutory frameworks
• Information to inform best practice when meeting a child’s needs through the provision of accommodation and financial support
• Information to inform best practice when assisting families to achieve a long-term solution to their situation of destitution and pathway off support

Read the guidance.

Support for migrant families is a free online tool to help establish what a family’s support options are on the basis of the parent’s immigration status.

Users will find out:

• Whether the parent can claim means-tested benefits or homelessness assistance
• Whether the family can access accommodation and financial support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (or equivalent legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and how children's social care will determine eligibility for this support
• What immigration options the parent may have and when to signpost the family to an immigration adviser
• Whether the family may be able to access other services
• If the family will have the right to rent (England)

Users will need to be able to answer questions about the parent's immigration status.

Use the web tool.

The tool was developed in partnership with the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at Oxford University and Soapbox. The project was initially funded by the Legal Education Foundation and has won a community integration award.

Web tool last updated: May 2025

Practice guidance and template to help councils undertake human rights assessments when schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 applies to an adult, family, or care leaver who is receiving or applying for support from children's or adult social care.

Content includes:

• When a human rights assessment is required
• Identifying legal barriers and practical obstacles to return
• Identifying when a person may require immigration advice before return can be considered
• Withdrawing support when there are no barriers or obstacles to return  

Download the template (MS Word document).

Read the guidance: when and how to undertake a human rights assessment.

Our practice guidance, supporting households with no recourse to public funds: key elements and service models, provides a strategic overview for social care managers, strategic leads, commissioners and other staff who are responsible for designing services or delivering social care support for people with no recourse to public funds. The guidance has been informed by the shared experiences of councils that have implemented different service models.

Content includes:

• Key elements of service delivery
• Different organisational structures that councils use to deliver support to people with no recourse to public funds
• Benefits and challenges of having a dedicated team or dedicated workers
• How key elements can be delivered through different models of service structures and potential challenges that may arise
• Specialist roles that some councils use to aid service delivery

Read the guidance.