1. No Recourse to Public Funds 30 April 2009

2. 2 The Scheme –The scheme is intended for victims of Domestic Violence (DV) who were previously admitted to, or granted an extension in the UK as a spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same sex partner and able to qualify for ILR under the DV rule. –The scheme is not available to persons admitted to the UK with Limited Leave to Remain i.e. as a student or domestic worker, or to those seeking asylum. –If the applicant’s application for DV ILR is successful and they are accepted as destitute, the UKBA will make a one-off payment of up to £1000 per victim to the supporting organisation to cover some of the essential housing and living costs for that victim. –The payment will be made for a maximum of five weeks and will be paid retrospectively to the supporting organisation immediately following the grant of ILR.

3. 3 Feedback and Changes –Following previous meetings, UKBA have made a number of changes to make the application process more efficient. –Enhanced case handling/monitoring i.e. creation of a designated Duty Officer Role with DV experience; daily recording, tracking and progress chasing of cases; central contact point for all issues relating to applications and scheme payments. –Deliver quicker, quality decisions; i.e. establishing a Service Level Agreement with the police over quicker provision of required papers/documentation; more proactive casework approach; where possible, deciding DV applications within 20 days of receipt, any refusals checked by a Senior Caseworker.

4. 4 Feedback and Changes cont. –Revised destitution approach A revised definition of destitution for the purposes of the immigration rules which will see a significant improvement in case consideration times and a more balanced approach to assessing destitution. –SET(DV) Application Form and Guidance A number of other enhancements have been made to the SET(DV) application form and guidance notes, to eliminate duplications in checklists, and to provide scope for applicants to explain the reasons why they cannot supply information. Some of these changes are based on valuable feedback from meetings held with legal representatives and various victim support groups.

5. Victim completes DV ILR application form Application received by UKBA 20 days begins If applicant qualifies for ILR as a victim of DV, confirmation is sent to the refuge/supporting organisation (SO) If applicant does not qualify for ILR as a victim of DV, confirmation is sent to the refuge/supporting organisation (SO). They will need to decide whether to continue support UKBA will then provide a payment of up to £1000 to the refuge/SO The applicant will be granted a right of appeal If granted ILR at appeal, UKBA will provide a payment of up to £1000 to the refuge/SO If dismissed at appeal, the refuge/SO will need to decide whether they continue to support the applicant Victim arrives at refuge

6. She takes 3 weeks to complete her DV ILR application V arrives at a refuge UKBA receive the application & take 14 days to make a decision UKBA grant V ILR so payment details of the supporting organisation are logged onto the system & the refuge/SO are informed of the decision UKBA calculate that although they only took 14 working days (3 weeks) to make a decision, V was also being accommodated for a further 3 weeks while she completed her application. Therefore, payment of £1000 (max for 5 weeks) is made to the SO to cover some of the time V was supported in their refuge The £1000 is paid to the SO via direct debit – payment details would have been submitted on V’s application form Along with the application, the refuge/SO provide a copy of their intake form/NRPF 1 to send to UKBA to show the date they began supporting V. During this time the police provide their report

7. 7 Payments –Refuges/SOs will need to provide a copy of either their intake form and/or a copy of NRPF 1 (draft) with the application to show the date they began supporting the applicant. The application allows for the refuge/SO to record their banking details. –In order to qualify as a recipient of payment, the applicant MUST have been granted ILR under the DV rule and refuges/SOs will need to be recognised by Women’s Aid and registered in the Gold Book. –We understand that not all refuges wish to have their details registered for security reasons, therefore, if a refuge applies for payment, but is not in the Gold Book, a designated contact in Women’s Aid will verify whether the refuge/SO is genuine. –Women’s Aid will send a monthly update to the Duty Officer in UKBA to ensure the Gold Book is kept updated.

8. 8 Monitoring of the scheme - UKBA –There are targets and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that UKBA and the HO have agreed in order to make the scheme work effectively, i.e. progressing the majority of applications within 20 days of receipt. –In order to maintain these targets, there will be a monitoring process in place. –UKBA will also be collecting data on the numbers of applications, the time taken to process, the number of successful applications etc.

9. 9 Monitoring – Refuges/SOs –In order to monitor the scheme effectively we will also require input from those organisations dealing with the applicants in the first instance. –Women’s Aid have offered to conduct the overall monitoring of information such as date of intake into the refuge, time taken to complete the application, time taken by UKBA to make a decision, time taken to receive payment etc. –In order to identify any future changes to the scheme, we will need refuges and SOs to assist in recording and disclosing this information.

10. 10 Reporting –In order to keep the group updated on progress of the scheme we suggest quarterly meetings with this group. –In addition, we will release a quarterly statistical analysis and report on progress. This report will be governed and overseen by the Domestic Violence Advisory Group. –These meetings and reports will enable us to identify patterns and trends in applications, any areas for improvement and any necessary changes.

11. 11 Publicity and Communication –In order to reach those practitioners and victims who will benefit from this scheme we need to find the best ways of communicating the information to them. –We will be making an announcement towards the end of May but how else can we publicise this scheme? –How do we best disseminate this information to refuges and SOs?

12. 12 Any other issues –Are there other areas we need to be considering i.e. payments for children? The need for payments to be weighted by London/outside of London? Cases that go to appeal and are subsequently granted ILR? –What are your main areas of concerns? –Do you have any comments or questions?