Ending Destitution Together: Phase Two Delivery Plan

Ending Destitution Together Phase Two – Delivery Plan for 2026-2029

Action Areas

• Financial Inclusion

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We piloted a Hardship Fund to support people with NRPF across Scotland who are facing crisis situations (delivered between 2021 and 2024).

Objective

• Maximise access to financial support for people with NRPF, where possible, within devolved competencies.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA
• Fair Way Scotland

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Continue to provide funding to support a casework and emergency cash project to support >1000 people until March 2027.
• Scottish Government and COSLA will establish a short life working group to explore financial support options for people with NRPF in Scotland.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Assess potential for sustainable funding of casework and emergency cash model.
• Continue to review devolved benefits and engage with the UK Government on public funds eligibility.
• Continue work with local authority and third sector welfare advice services to improve awareness and understanding of NRPF rights and entitlements.

Action Areas

• Housing and Homelessness

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will contribute to the ambition of ending homelessness and specifically support actions relating to people with NRPF and destitute asylum seekers, as set out in the Ending Homelessness Together action plan.

Objective

• Work with specialist organisations, Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and local authorities to improve access to housing for people subject to NRPF.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA
• Fair Way Scotland

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Support local approaches to winter and severe weather accommodation provision, ensuring inclusion and consideration of people with NRPF.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue to support the third sector to develop and deliver accommodation models for households ineligible for local authority accommodation.
• Explore opportunities to improve collection of NRPF data through national homelessness reporting.
• Ensure appropriate reference to NRPF specific issues is included when the Code of Guidance on Homelessness is updated.

Action Areas

• Child Poverty

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• N/A

Objective

• Ensure that the needs of children and families with NRPF are actively considered and reflected in the delivery and implementation of actions to tackle child poverty in Scotland.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Work with partners to raise awareness and improve access to Free School Meals for children in households with NRPF.
• Work with partners to raise awareness and improve access to School Clothing Grants for children in households with NRPF.
• Work with partners to improve access to funded early learning and childcare for children in NRPF households in line with actions in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue to connect the Ending Destitution Together Strategy with the Tackling Child Poverty Strategy and Delivery Plan.
• Contribute to the reduction of child poverty by ensuring the needs of children and families with NRPF are identified, understood and addressed.

Action Areas

• Lived Experience

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will work with people with lived experience of destitution and NRPF to continue to inform and shape the strategy during implementation. This will include supporting opportunities for people to participate meaningfully in policy development and service design at a national and local level.

Objective

• Delivery and implementation of the strategy and plan is informed and shaped by lived experience.

Delivery Partners

• Govan Community Project
• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Expand lived experience representation through Govan Community Project’s Experts by Experience, ensuring broader geographical reach and representation of wider groups of people with NRPF.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue and deepen dialogue with lived experience groups to inform strategy, development and implementation.
• Review lived experience approaches and establish a sustainable funding approach to ensure that lived experience continues to inform delivery of the strategy.

Action Areas

• Local Authority Immigration Advice

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will increase access to specialist immigration advice to support local authorities assisting people with NRPF. This will help support especially vulnerable groups and complex cases, as well as building local capacity and strengthening local service design. It will also collect data to strengthen the national evidence base on immigration advice needs.

Objective

• Provide immigration advice to local authorities and third sector partners to support the progression of immigration claims, mitigating the destitution risk for people with insecure immigration status.

Delivery Partners

• COSLA
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Continue funding IOM to provide specialist immigration advice until March 2027.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Seek to establish a sustainable funding model for the provision of this specialist immigration advice.
• Continue to review the changing immigration landscape to inform future advice needs.

Action Areas

• Diagnostic Legal Advice

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will invest in the provision of diagnostic legal advice delivered in partnership with advocacy support for people subject to NRPF, including expanding the geographical reach outside Glasgow.

Objective

• Continue to provide diagnostic legal advice and advocacy support through the Refugee Support Service (RSS).

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Refugee Council
• Refugee Support Service

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Continue to fund the RSS service until March 2028.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Seek to establish a sustainable funding model for the provision of this advice.

Action Areas

• Local Authority Guidance and Training

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will update guidance and training to support local authority provision of services to people with NRPF. We will deliver further training to officers working in local authorities and launch a new online learning module. We will also provide training to third sector organisations to support understanding of local authority duties and responsibilities and encourage partnership working.

Objective

• Local authority staff and other frontline workers have access to guidance and training that reflects current UK immigration rules and rights and entitlements in Scotland.

Delivery Partners

• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Continue to review, update and publish refreshed non statutory Migrants Rights and Entitlements Guidance by March 2027.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue to review and refresh guidance, training content and legacy resources to ensure they remain up to date for local authority staff.
• Deliver a range of national training and learning opportunities to support local authority provision of services to people with NRPF.

Action Areas

• NRPF Data, Research and Evidence

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• N/A

Objective

• We will continue to take an evidence-based approach to NRPF in Scotland and identify opportunities to improve data gathering and evidence.

Delivery Partners

• COSLA
• Scottish Government
• Fair Way Scotland

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• COSLA to continue collecting annual local authority data on NRPF presentations and support.
• Fair Way Scotland to continue research and evaluation of NRPF policy in Scotland.
• Fair Way Scotland funded to work with a local authority and test approaches that maximise support for households with NRPF.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Review NRPF data, research and evidence in Scotland to identify gaps and future areas of work.
• Review and share learning from the Fair Way local authority demonstration project at a national level.

Action Areas

• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• N/A

Objective

• Ensure women with NRPF experiencing VAWG have access to relevant information, advice and support.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Work with specialist organisations and VAWG Strategic Partnerships to increase awareness amongst frontline workers of the immigration options for people experiencing domestic violence, including through development of an NRPF VAWG factsheet and delivery of information sessions and training.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue strategic engagement with the Equally Safe Strategy, including the Addressing Violence Against Minority Ethnic Women and Girls Network, to ensure women with insecure immigration status experiencing VAWG are supported in line with the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO / the Istanbul Convention).

Action Areas

• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• N/A

Objective

• Ensure women with NRPF experiencing VAWG have access to relevant information, advice and support.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Scottish Government has increased their investment in the Fund to Leave from £1.5m in 2025-26 to £2m in 2026-27 and is committed to making this fund permanent. This increased investment will allow the national Fund to Leave to reach even more women and children, helping them take the first steps towards a stable, secure and independent future, free from abuse. This includes women with NRPF.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue strategic engagement with the Equally Safe Strategy, including the Addressing Violence Against Minority Ethnic Women and Girls Network, to ensure women with insecure immigration status experiencing VAWG are supported in line with the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO /the Istanbul Convention).

Action Areas

• Access to Health Services

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will improve access to primary health services, including by working with Public Health Scotland and other partners to address health inequalities experienced by people subject to NRPF, translating Health Access Cards and promoting to NHS staff the right to access healthcare for migrants and people seeking asylum.

Objective

• Support improved health outcomes for people with NRPF through preventative approaches, better access to health services and increased staff knowledge and understanding of NRPF in healthcare settings.

Delivery Partners

• Public Health Scotland (PHS)
• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• PHS will continue to build knowledge and understanding of NRPF to frontline health workers across various services through awareness raising sessions, resources and signposting, in collaboration with key partners.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Develop and publicise resources to ensure people with NRPF, and those supporting them, understand their rights and entitlements in a healthcare setting.
• Connect the Ending Destitution Together Strategy with the Population Health Framework.

Action Areas

• Mental Health Support

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will improve access to mental health services for adults and children with NRPF by working to better understand the barriers and to collectively agree the practical actions that can be taken by local authorities, the Scottish Government and the NHS. We will also work to inform forthcoming work on mental health service renewal.

Objective

• Improve access to mental health support services for those who have NRPF and are at risk of destitution.

Delivery Partners

• Public Health Scotland (PHS)
• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Ensure that the needs of people with NRPF are reflected in the ongoing delivery and implementation of the Mental Health and Wellbeing, Self Harm and Suicide Prevention strategies.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue to connect the Ending Destitution Together Strategy to the Mental Health and Wellbeing, Self Harm, Suicide Prevention and the New Scots Strategies.

Action Areas

• Employability

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• We will ensure that employability support is accessible for people subject to NRPF who have permission to work. We will improve understanding of the employability support needs of people with NRPF to strengthen the pathways and approach of No One Left Behind.

Objective

• Improve awareness and access to employability support for people with NRPF including pathways out of destitution through employment.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Ensure the needs of people with NRPF are reflected in the ongoing delivery and implementation of the No One Left Behind and New Scots strategies.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Continue to raise awareness amongst services of the employment risks faced by people with NRPF.

Action Areas

• Reserved Matters

Initial EDT Strategy Action

• N/A

Objective

• Engage with the UK Government to address barriers faced by people with NRPF condition.

Delivery Partners

• Scottish Government
• COSLA

Delivery Period 2026-2027

• Continue to engage with UK Government NRPF officials and policy experts to understand the impact of UK Government reforms to the asylum and immigration system on destitution.

Delivery Period 2027-2029

• Take an evidence based approach to considering possible mitigations to reduce the impact of harmful UK Government policies on people under NRPF conditions.
• Seek to agree a memorandum of understanding with the Home Office on public funds guidance powers, specifically with respect to the exercise of Scottish devolved powers.