Non-British rough sleepers ‘targeted for deportation’

It has been reported that the personal data of dozens of non-British rough sleepers has been shared with the Home Office under a controversial programme that could lead to their deportation.

The government’s Rough Sleeping Support Service scheme has been criticised for seeking to embroil organisations in the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy. Councils and homelessness charities have shared the sensitive details of homeless people at least 85 times through the scheme, although the Home Office will not reveal how many of the people referred to its RSSS since October 2020 have been forcibly removed from the UK.

The scheme aims to identify within 24 hours whether an undocumented rough sleeper has an immigration status that allows them to access public funds such as housing support. Anyone found to have no lawful basis to remain in the UK could ultimately face removal, either voluntarily or forcibly.

According to the Observer and Liberty Investigates, the referrals were made by 11 councils including Gloucester and Leeds, a housing provider called Keystage Housing, and three charities.

The scheme was first trialled by the Home Office in 2018 until the Observer revealed it as part of a covert strategy to deport rough sleepers after acquiring personal data without their consent. It was relaunched in September 2020 with a new requirement to obtain rough sleepers’ ‘fully informed consent’.

Despite this, there remains doubt over whether fully informed consent was possible, especially given the potential vulnerabilities of rough sleepers, possible language barriers and a power imbalance between them and the organisations contracted to help them.