This week I wrote to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, asking her to urgently rethink changes to Immigration Rules which will make street homelessness grounds for refusing or cancelling someone’s right to remain in the UK. These new rules are just the latest expansion of the Hostile Environment which is being driven to increasingly cruel extremes under the current Home Secretary.

The new rules will make it easier for the Government to target vulnerable individuals, particularly those with mental or physical health issues, who are struggling to access the limited support which they might have access to. Most of those who the new rules will impact are not allowed to claim any form of benefits or receive help with homelessness from their local authority, under the No-Recourse to Public Fund rules. They are therefore being set up to fail. Banned from working and prevented from obtaining any support with housing, they will have been pushed onto the streets by a government who have now added that to the list of reasons they can deport somebody.

The consequences are obvious. It will be harder for charities to help those who are street homeless and need help, while those who have found themselves sleeping rough will be far more likely to fall victim to modern slavery and other forms of exploitation. In short this is yet another disastrous policy from a government blinded by its ideological hatred of refugees.

The Government could always afford free school meals

Over the last 6 months, Marcus Rashford has been campaigning tirelessly for an extension of Free School Meals over the holiday periods. He was joined by the Labour Party who brought multiple votes on the issue in the House of Commons. The Tory Party repeatedly voted against an extension on the grounds that, at a cost of just over £400 million, we simply could not afford to ensure that vulnerable children in this country don’t go hungry. It wasn’t until public pressure became overwhelming that the Prime Minister was forced into yet another embarrassing U-Turn. That is what it takes to persuade this government to fulfil basic obligations such as ensuring that no child goes hungry.

In stark contrast, this week it was announced that the Government will be spending more than £16 billion on defence spending. It took no public pressure to decide that was something we can afford.

Boris Johnson could not be making it clearer what his priorities are. This military expansion will cost us 40 times more than ensuring children in this country get at least one meal a deal. Clearly, in reality, this was never actually about affordability. It is about the priorities of Boris Johnson and his Government. This is a lesson I hope we all remember when, in a few months, the Government begins to tell us that we cannot afford to maintain vital services, invest in the NHS or to build affordable housing.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme is broken

This week it was revealed that there have been multiple complaints of racism and discrimination within the Home Office and that the most senior black Home Office employee within the Windrush compensation scheme resigned this year, describing the scheme as systemically racist and unfit for purpose.

I’ve been deeply concerned for some time that the scheme may not be fit for purpose and have continued to raise those concerns with the Home Secretary. Not only have 9 Windrush victims now tragically died before receiving compensation, but the scheme has been incredibly slow to reach decisions on almost all open cases. The vast majority of cases have been given no final decision and with very little communication between the scheme’s caseworkers and the claimants, it seems that the Home Office are putting many members of the Windrush generation through another period of tortuous limbo.

Despite positive words from Priti Patel following the Wendy Williams report, the Home Office has been slow to implement any of the report’s recommendations and my fear is that the Windrush Generation may never be able to access justice under a government that still endorses the Hostile Environment. This is why it is vital that people understand that the Windrush Scandal continues. The outrage that so many felt when the scandal came to light should not be diminished. The Government continues to insult and discriminate that generation every single day. We must continue to fight for justice for them.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email  edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate Osamor MP