The Impact Campaign
Hostile is a springboard to enact real change within our system and to improve real lives in this country.
Following Hostile’s release, the Impact Campaign is the next step in creating this change.
It launched on 6 June 2022 with a screening of Hostile in Parliament.
Bringing together communities, educators and legal experts, Hostile is pushing for reform to the damaging No Recourse To Public Funds policy, and the repeal of any existing legislation that could have adverse effects on communities that have a right to live in the UK, such as the policies that led to the Windrush Scandal. The first step towards reaching this goal requires getting the government to recommit to the recommendations laid out in the 2020 Windrush Lessons Learned Review.
With the support of the UK Fund of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, we want to get Hostile to the communities that need it the most.
Also supporting us on our campaign are organisations including Migrants Organise, JCWI, Bonny Down Community Association, DAUK, Stephen Timms, INSA (Indian National Students Association) and Newham Community Project, who have joined us as Impact Partners.
2022 started with a nationwide screening and Q&A tour at the Picturehouse and other independent cinemas. Director Sonita Gale was joined by leading experts such as Sonali Naik QC from Garden Court Chambers and Yasmine Ahmed, the UK Director of Human Rights Watch, to name a few. We are now in the thick of our Impact Tour, which continues through June 2023.
To join our campaign or learn more, please email info@galeforcefilms.co.uk
The Facts
In 2018, the UK Home Office made £500million from immigration fees. Source: The Times
In 2016, 2.5 million overseas-born people were in poverty (32% of all overseas-born people) – this contrasts with a poverty rate of 19% for UK-born people. Source: JRF
Children in migrant families are more likely to live in poverty compared to those in UK-born or long-term resident families. This is because they are more likely to live in households where at least one adult is not in employment, in privately rented accommodation and are more likely to have NRPF due to their parents’ immigration status. Source: Migration Observatory
No Recourse to Public Funds
- No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) was introduced in 1999 by New Labour’s Immigration and Asylum Act (Section 115).
- This policy dictates that anyone ‘subject to immigration control’ has NRPF and therefore, cannot access ‘public funds’.
- These ‘public funds’ include: Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Child Benefit, Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance (see full list here).
- In 2012, as part of the government’s ‘hostile environment’ measures, the Home Office began automatically applying the NRPF condition to people granted leave to remain on family or private life grounds.
- NRPF is even applied to individuals with a Limited Leave to Remain visa status. This means that, in spite of paying the same tax as all other working UK citizens (council tax, income tax and national insurance), they are not entitled to access public funds.
- With no access to public funds, people with NRPF can often be left destitute, resulting in reliance on food banks and homelessness.
- This inequality and deprivation amongst people with NRPF grew considerably during the pandemic – the effects of which are still being felt. 2019 research revealed NRPF has a disproportionate impact on women, low-income families, disabled people, and black and minority ethnic (BAME) children and, as of June 2020, nearly 1.4 million people had No Recourse to Public Funds (Citizens Advice research) with 150,000 of those people being children. Source: Free Movement
- At the end of 2021, at least 224,576 non-EEA citizens under age 18 would be expected to have ‘no recourse to public funds’. Source: The Migration Observatory
The Windrush Scandal
- The ‘Windrush’ generation are those who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973.
- The Windrush scandal began to surface in 2017 after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the ‘Windrush’ generation, had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.
- A Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched on 3 April 2019 as reparations for the families and individuals that were impacted.
- Despite the initial estimate of about 15,000 people being eligible for compensation, as of the end of November 2022 only 1,307 people have received payment.
- As of October 2022, 23 people are known to have died before receiving compensation.
- Many Windrush campaigners (such as Patrick Vernon) firmly believe that moving the operation of the scheme out of the Home Office is a necessary step to prevent delays, as they are incapable of supporting victims on an emotional level.
- In June 2023, the country will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of those on board the Empire Windrush with a series of events around the country.
What would we like to review?
OUR GOALS:
Overhaul:
To review the NRPF condition
To end the immigration health surcharge (IHS) for all tax-paying migrants
To ensure that migrants are provided with clear information in a language and a format that they are able to understand, including making provisions for migrants with disabilities
Compensate:
To see that the Windrush Compensation Scheme needs to be managed by an independent body and not another government department due to the conflict of interest.
To require a sense of urgency when dealing with compensation requests, due to the age of those impacted.
To ensure that the Home office needs to create immediately easy to read and make accessible Windrush Compensation forms application forms for survivors of the Windrush Scandal
How can you support us?
Email your MP
Sir Stephen Timms MP, who is spearheading the campaign against NRPF within parliament, has informed us that the most important action we can take is to write to our local MPs. You can download an email template HERE to write to your local MP.
Meanwhile MPs like David Lammy have been calling for the government to move more quickly when it comes to compensating victims of the Windrush Scandal. You can download an email template HERE to write to your local MP on this issue.
Please note – you can visit www.members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP to find out who your local MP is.
Educate on social media
The first step in affecting change is awareness. Social media is a wonderful tool through which to spread information quickly and freely. You can download a social media pack to share HERE.
Don’t forget to follow/tag us on social media: Twitter at @hostiledoc and Instagram @hostiledoc
Print off our impact flyer
Knowledge is power. Our impact flyer contains more information about NRPF and what you can do to support the campaign. Why not print the flyer and share it in your organisation/local area?
Download HERE.
Join the conversation
Throughout the coming months, we’ll be holding screenings and Q&As around NRPF and the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush – online and in person across the UK. We’re bringing together individuals, politicians and academics to consider how we can affect change. Stay posted across our social media @hostiledoc to see when you can join us!
How can you access support?
Write to your local MP
It can sometimes be useful to get your local Member of Parliament (MP) involved in your asylum, human rights or immigration case. You can find your local MP HERE. There are some helpful guidelines on writing to your MP on the Right to Remain website HERE.
Visit Your local Law Centre
You can find your local law centre HERE (on the right side of the page, you can enter in your postcode and it will tell you where your local law centre is). Many local law centres provide free immigration advice, although services vary from centre to centre.
There are a number of law firms that might be able to help, such as Bindmans or Leigh Day.
Visit Your local Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens Advice Bureaus offer advice to local residents on a range of practical and legal matters. You can find more information on their website HERE (on the right side of the page, enter your postcode and it will tell you where your nearest CAB is).






