Ilona Pinter gave oral evidence to the APPGs inquiry into the Impact of Recent Immigration and Asylum Rule Changes on Poverty.

According to the evidence

Proposals for 'earned settlement' include excluding children and families from access to social security protection for a standard period of 10 years. Some will have to wait even longer (15 years) such as those on a low income, like some care workers. This is alongside punitive measures for families needing access to vital benefits; punitive measures include adding 5 or 10 years if you've been claiming benefits for <12months or +12months. Some who don't meet the mandatory criteria may never be able to settle. And the government intends to apply these retrospectively causing huge worries for families already living here.

Among the refugee and asylum reforms are measures to withdraw support from families who have been refused asylum; making it harder for families to access support if they have permission to work; potentially restricting benefits access to refugees; and placing refugees on a 20 year path to settlement with reviews required every 30 months. These are all likely to have very negative consequences for the thousands of children and families who will be affected, including increased poverty and destitution risk. There were over 24,000 children receiving Asylum Support at the end of 2024 and around 98,000 children who claimed asylum with their families in the last decade (2016-25). Though some of the asylum provisions will apply for those claiming from 2nd March onwards (not all though!), these figures still tell us they a significant number of children will be impacted each year. The government's announcements are already contributing to huge anxieties and mistrust among refugee and migrant communities living in the UK.

These provisions stand in contravention to the good work the government is doing in tackling child poverty, especially deep material poverty. 

More info about the inquiry is available here.