Family returns plan sparks backlash as charities warn of 'enforced destitution'

A government consultation on how to return families who have no legal basis to remain in the UK has drawn sharp criticism from refugee and women's rights organisations, who say the proposals would in effect use destitution as a tool of immigration enforcement.

The 12-week consultation, launched alongside the wider asylum reforms set out in March 2026, seeks views on commencing parts of the Immigration Act 2016 that reshape the support available to families and the circumstances in which that support can be reduced or withdrawn.

It also asks how the government should enforce the return of families who do not leave voluntarily, including when physical intervention might be used during an enforced removal.

What the proposals would change

At present, families with children under 18 can continue to receive Section 95 asylum support indefinitely after a claim is refused. The reforms under Schedule 11 of the 2016 Act would narrow that, offering Home Office support to refused families only in defined circumstances.

The plans would abolish the existing Section 4 support and introduce a new form of support, known as Section 95A, for refused asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and who face a 'genuine obstacle' to leaving the UK.

• Support for refused families limited to specified circumstances rather than continuing automatically
• Abolition of Section 4 support and creation of a new Section 95A
• A 'genuine obstacle' test before discretionary support is offered
• Proposals on the use of physical intervention during enforced family returns

Charities warn of harm to children

Refugee and migrants' rights organisations have responded with alarm, arguing that families with children should not be made destitute to encourage departure and that the changes risk breaching safeguarding duties.

Groups working with migrant women have been especially critical, warning that survivors of domestic abuse and trafficking could be left without a safety net, and that the threat of removing support disproportionately affects single-parent households.

“You cannot make a child destitute in order to make a point about immigration control. These proposals risk cruelty as policy.”

The government's case

Ministers say the current arrangements create a perverse incentive for families to remain after their claims have failed, and that a fair system must include a credible and humane process for return when there is no legal right to stay.

The Home Office argues that voluntary return is always the preferred route, and that the consultation is genuinely seeking views on how enforcement should operate, including the safeguards that should apply when families do not leave of their own accord.

“A functioning asylum system has to include returns. Without them, public confidence collapses and the whole system loses its legitimacy.”

Background

The family returns consultation is one strand of a broad asylum and returns programme rolled out across 2026, which also shortened refugee leave to 30 months, moved asylum support from a legal duty to a discretionary power, and proposed an Independent Appeals Body to tackle the tribunal backlog.

Devolved bodies and Scottish refugee organisations have submitted their own responses, highlighting the tension between reserved immigration powers and devolved responsibilities for child welfare and housing.

What happens next

Once the consultation closes, the government will consider responses before deciding whether and how to commence the relevant provisions of the 2016 Act. The fiercest battles are likely to be over the support changes affecting children and the rules governing enforced removals, both of which campaigners have signalled they may challenge.