Professor John Robertson OBA

In the Guardian today, the above and:

Tens of thousands of children in migrant and refugee families in the UK are being denied access to government-funded childcare because of benefit restrictions linked to their parents’ immigration status, a report says.

Having “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) means parents are not entitled to 30 hours of free childcare and are having to stay home to look after their young children instead of working. This is pushing families into poverty and denying their children the benefits of the early years education available to their peers, the report finds.

About 4 million people in the UK are affected by NRPF restrictions, according to the report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in conjunction with the human rights organisation Praxis, which works with migrants and refugees.¹

Despite there being an IPPR Scotland, the report makes no mention of this:

Government-funded early education and childcare in Scotland is not classed as a ‘public fund’ for immigration purposes, so can be accessed by a child or their parent regardless of their immigration status. ²

Sources:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/07/migrants-and-refugee-families-in-the-uk-denied-childcare-funding-report-finds
2. https://www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk/information-and-resources/rights-and-entitlements/services-for-children-and-families/early-education-and-childcare/scotland#guide-content

When I read the above, my mind was cast back to a similar story. In 2019, I wrote:

Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum

In the HOUSE OF LORDS European Union Committee 48th Report of Session 2017–19 HL Paper 428 Brexit: refugee protection and asylum policy, we read:

‘The Refugee Council, for example, noted that unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Scotland and Northern Ireland had access to independent guardians, but that an equivalent service was only available to children in England and Wales who had [and who could prove that they had] experienced modern slavery.’

Click to access 428.pdf

This follows the research the University of Birmingham showing that ‘EU families in Scotland feel more welcome and safer than south of the border.’

Click to access eurochildren-brief-8-sigona-godin-scotland.pdf

Earlier reports here reveal a consistently more humanitarian approach to refugees and other migrants:

Different NHS Scotland and Wales reject England’s hostile environment for vulnerable migrant mothers-to-be

It is a matter of life in Scotland and death in England

Only Guardian and Al Jazeera tell us EU families and ‘Eurochildren’ in Brexiting Britain feel safer in Scotland

Scotland drifting away from nasty place as SNP Government launches funeral benefit for those on low income