Social services assessments for families with no recourse to public funds
Social services is part of your local council.
If you ask for help as a homeless family, social services should:
carry out a 'child in need' assessment
give you emergency housing and support if you need it while they do this
This can take up to 9 weeks.
Find out how to ask for social services support.
Help to speak to social services
You can ask for an interpreter if you need one.
You can also take someone you know with you to help explain things.
You could get support from a local charity or advice service.
What is a 'child in need' assessment?
The assessment is a way for social services to understand what your child needs.
They will look at your family situation, your housing and your children's educational needs.
If you have a disabled child, the assessment will also look at if there is a need for services to help with this.
Social services could ask to talk to:
your children's schools
your doctor
the Home Office
other charities or organisations who know you
They will ask you to sign a form to say you agree to this.
If you need help with housing
You will be asked lots of questions about things like:
your immigration situation
where you have been living
your money and bank accounts
who has been helping you
Some of the questions will feel very personal and might not seem relevant.
Be honest about your situation. Try to answer all the questions.
If you're asked for something you do not have, explain why and when you can get it. For example, if your passport is with the Home Office.
Your immigration situation
A social worker will ask about:
how and when you and your children came to the UK
any applications you have made to the Home Office
You might have to meet with an immigration officer.
Immigration advice
Social workers and immigration officers must not give you immigration advice.
Make a complaint if they try to. For example, if they encourage you to apply for asylum instead of asking social services for help.
You could get free immigration advice from:
Get advice before contacting social services if you do not have permission to be in the UK.
Your housing situation
A social worker will ask for:
your current or most recent address
addresses where you have lived before
dates you stayed at each address
who lived there and the number of bedrooms
Tell the social worker why if you cannot remember some dates or addresses. For example, if you only stayed there for a short time or were not told the address.
The social worker might ask to see documents like:
a tenancy agreement or eviction notice
letters from people that say why you have to leave
Your money
Social services look into your finances carefully.
You will have to show payslips if you're working.
You must usually show at least 6 months of statements for any accounts including:
current and savings accounts
store and credit cards
PayPal or other online accounts
You have to show statements even if the accounts are now closed.
You also have to show statements for any accounts in your partner or children's names.
Social services might do a credit check to see if you have other accounts.
If other people use your bank accounts it can make it look like you have more money than you really have. This can make social services ask more questions.
Try not to let other people use your bank account. If someone has money in your account, ask them to write a letter to explain this and show it to social services.
Help from other people
Social services will ask about your family and friends in the UK and abroad.
They will ask why friends or other people, such as from a mosque or a church, cannot help you anymore. They will ask for phone numbers and call them to check.
If you're separated from your child's other parent, social services will ask what financial support they can offer and if your child can stay with them.
Can the council say they only help with travel?
Some councils offer to pay for travel instead of helping you properly.
For example, they might pay for a train ticket to travel to a different council area.
Sometimes social services might offer to pay for travel to your home country. This is known as 'voluntary return' and you can say no.
The council should not tell you to return to another country. They do not have the power to make you leave the UK.
Example: Refusing a council offer to pay for travel
Ama is a nurse in a London hospital. She has a skilled worker visa through an agency. She has 2 children in school.
The family could not find anywhere they could afford when their landlord decided to sell. They moved into an overcrowded flat with another family.
Ama and her children have now been told to leave. They have nowhere to stay and no money for food.
At first, the council say all they can do is pay for the family to return to their home country.
Ama does not want this. She has a job here and her children are doing well in school.
She can refuse and ask that social services do a full 'child in need' assessment.
The council should give emergency support while they find out what this family needs.
If you are treated badly by council staff
You should be treated with dignity and respect if you ask for help.
It can help to take a friend or support worker to appointments.
You can complain to the council about things like:
racism and discrimination
poor communication or rudeness
not getting an interpreter or translation
delays, suspicion or very intrusive questions
threats to take children into care or call the police if you do not leave
Last updated: 17 September 2023
