Area 4: Hostile Environment

The impacts of the current healthcare pandemic are compounded by the government’s hostile environment. The Home Office’s response makes clear the government has not learnt lessons from the Windrush disaster and continues to show a lack of respect for the investment that migrant communities have made in the UK. A number of migrant rights organisations continue to raise urgent concerns that inadequate steps have been taken to protect migrant populations at risk of COVID-19.

DATA SHARING BETWEEN THE NHS AND THE HOME OFFICE PREVENTS ACCESS  

There is evidence that NHS charging and data sharing between the NHS and Home Office is a deterrent to access healthcare - despite exemptions for COVID-19. There is increasing evidence that migrants are dying of COVID-19 because they are too afraid to seek help and treatment. 60 cross party MPs have written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock calling on the government to suspend all charging of migrants and end data sharing with the home office. They highlight the case of Elvis, a Filipino man who died at home of suspected COVID-19 after not accessing healthcare over fears of being reported to the Home Office.

This lack of protection for migrants and the blocking of access to healthcare has already had devastating consequences for the Windrush Generation, and the lack of response and cooperation of the Home Office to mirror Ireland’s firewall is risking BAME lives. Not only are undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees without visas afraid of detainment or deportation from visiting the NHS, the NRPF policy has enforced a message to them that are excluded from social security and support. The government ultimately bowed to pressure and scrapped the surcharge for NHS workers, now campaigners are calling on the government to extend the NHS surcharge waiver to all migrant workers, including teachers, bus drivers and charity workers.

ASYLUM ACCOMMODATION AND DETENTION FACILITIES ARE NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

Overcrowding and lack of sanitation at both asylum accommodation and detention facilities leads to high risks of infection spreading quickly.  Alarm has been raised as reports emerge of asylum seekers forced to eat in communal areas in breach of public health guidance.

THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT IS PREVENTING FUNDS REACHING THOSE IN THE GREATEST NEED 

The impact of having No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is compounded in the current environment where individuals are more likely to lose employment without safety nets of government support. This leaves many families facing an impossible situation when required to self-isolate and many are at higher risk of destitution. There have been concerns raised about the lack of consideration of NRPF conditions in responses to the crisis, for example in protection and support of rough sleepers. The NRPF Network factsheet provides more detail on these issues.

MIGRANT WORKERS ARE ALLOWED TO STAY AT LEAST UNTIL THE CURRENT CRISIS IS OVER

The fight for rights of migrant workers under the hostile environment which imposes undue stress and financial burden has been going on for years. The current approach to supporting migrant workers, particularly those classified as ‘key workers’ shows continuation of contempt for the investment that migrant communities have made in the UK. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has written an open letter to the Home Secretary calling for urgent changes to ensure the safety of migrants in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.Charities and church leaders call for all migrants, asylum seekers and refugees to be given temporary leave to remain in Britain to decrease their risk of exploitation, destitution and homelessness in an open letter to the government.

PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT HIGHLIGHTS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH AND INEQUALITY IN BRITAIN

Harmful and unfounded eugenics-led discourse is creating narratives of genetic differences causing the disproportionate deaths of BAME communities from COVID-19, ignoring the very real areas of vulnerability for these communities. BAME communities are more likely to live in low-income and over-crowded housing; overrepresented in the prison and homeless populations; more reliant on ‘gig economy’ roles and zero hour contracts; and ignored by the policies designed for public safety such as domestic violence support, access to information, and access to the NHS. Closing the disparity between health and inequality will create greater progress for UK society.

COVID-19 CRISIS IN THE UK CAUSING FINANCIAL WOES FOR EXTENDED FAMILIES IN SOMALIA

The Somali community of the UK is being hit hard by COVID-19 itself, being disproportionately affected health-wise while also being left financially vulnerable. London's community of Somalis is one of the largest in our diaspora and a regular ritual for its members is to send money to their families back home. Cuts to income and the closure of these shops have left families unable to send back vital funds for living expenses, with older residents unsure how to use digital transfer services. Somalis in London often work in vital, but low-paid jobs, and are part of London's migrant workforce: the care workers, nurses, bus drivers and cleaners who work in the most precarious jobs, often on insecure contracts. The closure of businesses and job insecurity will leave many Somalis in London jobless for a long time, in debt and facing serious financial woes for years to come. 

CHILDREN DENIED CANCER TREATMENT DUE TO IMMIGRATION STATUS

Calls for NHS charging regulations to be revoked have strengthened as a report found children were having treatments delayed or denied due to the policy requiring hospital staff to demand proof of entitlement to free healthcare. The report also found that pregnant women were deterred from seeking medical assistance, leading to intrauterine deaths. The report links both scenarios to the fear of accessing the NHS, and are making conditions that could be treated with early intervention emergency cases. The study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, but its findings are being demonstrated with migrants dying from suspected cases out of fear of accessing the NHS.

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