Ilona Pinter 🧡
@ilonapin.bsky.social
Researcher #FamilyFinances @uofglasgow.bsky.social & #ChildPovMig @lse-sticerd-case.bsky.social PhD @lsesocialpolicy.bsky.social #childrights #asylum #immigration #NRPF #poverty #inequality Lover of strangers & islands https://linktr.ee/ypseekingsafety
Pinned
Ilona Pinter 🧡
@ilonapin.bsky.social
· Oct 20
Learning is an essential need
Recent public narratives around asylum-seeking have focused on mostly men arriving by small boats and staying in Home Office commissioned hotels. However, what is the experience of the children and fa...
cpag.org.uk
The reality for children and families living in deep poverty while receiving Home Office Asylum Support gets little attention. My article for @cpaguk.bsky.social Poverty Journal - 'Learning is an essential need' - looks at what this means for children's education cpag.org.uk/news/learnin...
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Danish foreign minister and ex-PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen warns of need for balance & nuance on immigration & asylum "Danish model". Regrets some of harsher measures and signals of his government. NYT report notes the politics for centre-left now more contested too
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/w...
Denmark Offers Lessons as Europe Toughens Up on Immigration
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Danish foreign minister and ex-PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen warns of need for balance & nuance on immigration & asylum "Danish model". Regrets some of harsher measures and signals of his government. NYT report notes the politics for centre-left now more contested too
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/w...
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
With the Chancellor’s Budget tomorrow and the Child Poverty Strategy to follow, this is a pivotal moment. A credible plan to cut child poverty must account for the challenges facing migrant families.
Every child in the UK deserves a fair start in life, regardless of where their parents were born.
Every child in the UK deserves a fair start in life, regardless of where their parents were born.
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 PM
With the Chancellor’s Budget tomorrow and the Child Poverty Strategy to follow, this is a pivotal moment. A credible plan to cut child poverty must account for the challenges facing migrant families.
Every child in the UK deserves a fair start in life, regardless of where their parents were born.
Every child in the UK deserves a fair start in life, regardless of where their parents were born.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
4.45 million children in the UK live in poverty, and nearly 4 in 10 are in families where both parents were born abroad.
My blog sets out why this must be recognised in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
🔗https://tinyurl.com/yc8mp55p
My blog sets out why this must be recognised in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
🔗https://tinyurl.com/yc8mp55p
Making the Child Poverty Strategy work for migrant families | IPPR
At the time of writing, the UK government is preparing to launch a new national strategy to tackle child poverty. Weeks into being newly elected, prime min
www.ippr.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 PM
4.45 million children in the UK live in poverty, and nearly 4 in 10 are in families where both parents were born abroad.
My blog sets out why this must be recognised in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
🔗https://tinyurl.com/yc8mp55p
My blog sets out why this must be recognised in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
🔗https://tinyurl.com/yc8mp55p
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
The whole problem with current Labour is encapsulated right here in this paragraph. One hand tries to ameliorate child poverty while the other hand makes it worse.
Some of us think immigrants and their children count. That they, too, are people. Some of us don’t.
Some of us think immigrants and their children count. That they, too, are people. Some of us don’t.
November 20, 2025 at 8:44 AM
The whole problem with current Labour is encapsulated right here in this paragraph. One hand tries to ameliorate child poverty while the other hand makes it worse.
Some of us think immigrants and their children count. That they, too, are people. Some of us don’t.
Some of us think immigrants and their children count. That they, too, are people. Some of us don’t.
Horrendous & punishing for thousands of people including c.25,000 children seeking protection with their families who got status in the last five years (luckily children in care and care leavers are out of scope of the settlement changes)
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Horrendous & punishing for thousands of people including c.25,000 children seeking protection with their families who got status in the last five years (luckily children in care and care leavers are out of scope of the settlement changes)
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
November 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
At least 160,000 people have been granted refugee status over the past five years. It now seems they are intended to be caught by the Government’s plans to make refugees wait up to 20 years for settlement - even for those just months away from ILR
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...
Important to note the 20yrs individuals & families will now need to wait to settle after getting refugee status will be ON TOP of waiting many yrs already. At yr end 2022, families w/ children on s95 support were receiving this for >3yrs on ave & 20% for +5yrs sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/pu...
Unseen Children: The hidden lives of children in families seeking asylum in the UK
Children seeking asylum with their families in the UK face significant challenges and marginalisation, yet they are rarely acknowledged in public and policy discourses and in publicly available data. ...
sticerd.lse.ac.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Important to note the 20yrs individuals & families will now need to wait to settle after getting refugee status will be ON TOP of waiting many yrs already. At yr end 2022, families w/ children on s95 support were receiving this for >3yrs on ave & 20% for +5yrs sticerd.lse.ac.uk/case/_new/pu...
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
which values immigration - all of which requires public confidence in the border control system. Rhetoric, and harsh and expensive distractions like temporary refugee status, won't impact dangerous crossings. A relentless focus on workable solutions will.
Check out my interview in The Guardian.
Check out my interview in The Guardian.
November 22, 2025 at 5:43 PM
which values immigration - all of which requires public confidence in the border control system. Rhetoric, and harsh and expensive distractions like temporary refugee status, won't impact dangerous crossings. A relentless focus on workable solutions will.
Check out my interview in The Guardian.
Check out my interview in The Guardian.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Asylum is not "illegal migration"
Let's start from here theconversation.com/asylum-is-no...
Let's start from here theconversation.com/asylum-is-no...
Asylum is not illegal migration – why the UK government shouldn’t conflate the two
The new proposals transform settlement into something that must be continually earned. The path has become longer, more conditional and far more easily disrupted.
theconversation.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Asylum is not "illegal migration"
Let's start from here theconversation.com/asylum-is-no...
Let's start from here theconversation.com/asylum-is-no...
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
In our #BrokenLadders report with @fawcettsociety.bsky.social, we advocate for measures that the government and employers must implement to tackle ethnicity and gender pay gaps - from introducing mandatory, intersectional pay gap reporting to tackling racism in organisations 👇
owl.ly/l5VW50XvR3o
owl.ly/l5VW50XvR3o
Broken Ladders
The myth of meritocracy for women of colour in the workplace
www.runnymedetrust.org
November 22, 2025 at 9:27 AM
In our #BrokenLadders report with @fawcettsociety.bsky.social, we advocate for measures that the government and employers must implement to tackle ethnicity and gender pay gaps - from introducing mandatory, intersectional pay gap reporting to tackling racism in organisations 👇
owl.ly/l5VW50XvR3o
owl.ly/l5VW50XvR3o
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Today is #EqualPayDay - the day when, due to the gender pay gap in average wages, women effectively stop earning compared to men.
However, our analysis shows that for many women of colour, this date falls considerably earlier in the year.
However, our analysis shows that for many women of colour, this date falls considerably earlier in the year.
November 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Today is #EqualPayDay - the day when, due to the gender pay gap in average wages, women effectively stop earning compared to men.
However, our analysis shows that for many women of colour, this date falls considerably earlier in the year.
However, our analysis shows that for many women of colour, this date falls considerably earlier in the year.
Massively important point. These settlement changes will jeopardize any hopes many young people have of going to university without access to home fees or student finance. On top of what the longer term poverty will likely to mean for young people's earnings in adulthood.
PS, and then there is the issue of no home fees if the children reach university age before settlement.
November 21, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Massively important point. These settlement changes will jeopardize any hopes many young people have of going to university without access to home fees or student finance. On top of what the longer term poverty will likely to mean for young people's earnings in adulthood.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
On current fee levels I calculate that 5-year entry clearance, then 5-year extension (each with IHS), then settlement fees, would come to £16,649 for a single person. For a family of four (including partner and two children) it would be £58,267. (3)
November 21, 2025 at 8:45 PM
On current fee levels I calculate that 5-year entry clearance, then 5-year extension (each with IHS), then settlement fees, would come to £16,649 for a single person. For a family of four (including partner and two children) it would be £58,267. (3)
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
The settlement consultation would seem to confirm that the switch to a 20 year route will apply to those already with refugee status. A refugee who got their status 4 years ago could, depending on timings, find themselves suddenly facing an extra 15 years, with status reviews every 30 months.
November 20, 2025 at 2:49 PM
The settlement consultation would seem to confirm that the switch to a 20 year route will apply to those already with refugee status. A refugee who got their status 4 years ago could, depending on timings, find themselves suddenly facing an extra 15 years, with status reviews every 30 months.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Our participant Tayyba recently delivered a powerful speech at a roundtable at @resolutionfoundation.org. The powerful speech touched on single parenthood, in-work poverty and domestic violence and why we need to centre and protect our children's futures: changingrealities.org/writings/tod...
Spoken at the Resolution Foundation on 12th November 2025
changingrealities.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Our participant Tayyba recently delivered a powerful speech at a roundtable at @resolutionfoundation.org. The powerful speech touched on single parenthood, in-work poverty and domestic violence and why we need to centre and protect our children's futures: changingrealities.org/writings/tod...
Feeling this guy this week.
My spirit animal joins us (and I am particularly feeling him this week)!
November 21, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Feeling this guy this week.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
"It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?"
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?"
High earners to be eligible for UK settlement within 3 years of arrival
Home secretary says ‘brightest and best’ will be fast-tracked under new plans while others will have to wait up to 30 years
www.ft.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:32 AM
"It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?"
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?"
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Earned Settlement plan when implemented will be done via secondary legislation (the rules). There will be no parliamentary scrutiny prior. Once done, it'll be v.hard to politically reverse. It's a watershed moment and will define immigration policy for at least a decade.
November 20, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Earned Settlement plan when implemented will be done via secondary legislation (the rules). There will be no parliamentary scrutiny prior. Once done, it'll be v.hard to politically reverse. It's a watershed moment and will define immigration policy for at least a decade.
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 AM
With the child poverty strategy coming out soon, punishing children and families for being in poverty seems like a bad start: "Migrants reliant on benefits face a 20 year wait for settlement – quadruple the current period and the longest in Europe." www.gov.uk/government/n...
Biggest overhaul of legal migration model in 50 years announced
Illegal migrants and arrivals reliant on benefits face waiting between 20 and 30 years to settle – the toughest in Europe.
www.gov.uk
November 20, 2025 at 1:20 PM
With the child poverty strategy coming out soon, punishing children and families for being in poverty seems like a bad start: "Migrants reliant on benefits face a 20 year wait for settlement – quadruple the current period and the longest in Europe." www.gov.uk/government/n...
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
How do arrival infrastructures - from churches to cafés - shape newcomers’ first steps in a new place? 📍
@swessendorf.bsky.social will explore this question in tomorrow’s seminar, ‘Infrastructure of Kindness in the Context of Migrant Arrival.’
@swessendorf.bsky.social will explore this question in tomorrow’s seminar, ‘Infrastructure of Kindness in the Context of Migrant Arrival.’
November 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
How do arrival infrastructures - from churches to cafés - shape newcomers’ first steps in a new place? 📍
@swessendorf.bsky.social will explore this question in tomorrow’s seminar, ‘Infrastructure of Kindness in the Context of Migrant Arrival.’
@swessendorf.bsky.social will explore this question in tomorrow’s seminar, ‘Infrastructure of Kindness in the Context of Migrant Arrival.’
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
The UK isn’t a “soft touch” on asylum.
UK asylum seeker benefits are similar to European neighbours
No right to work before 12 months (it’s 6 months in France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands)
UK settlement after 5 years (it’s 3 or 4 in Germany)
Let’s cut out the alarmist rhetoric.
UK asylum seeker benefits are similar to European neighbours
No right to work before 12 months (it’s 6 months in France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands)
UK settlement after 5 years (it’s 3 or 4 in Germany)
Let’s cut out the alarmist rhetoric.
November 19, 2025 at 11:52 AM
The UK isn’t a “soft touch” on asylum.
UK asylum seeker benefits are similar to European neighbours
No right to work before 12 months (it’s 6 months in France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands)
UK settlement after 5 years (it’s 3 or 4 in Germany)
Let’s cut out the alarmist rhetoric.
UK asylum seeker benefits are similar to European neighbours
No right to work before 12 months (it’s 6 months in France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands)
UK settlement after 5 years (it’s 3 or 4 in Germany)
Let’s cut out the alarmist rhetoric.
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Applying the changes to settlement to refugees already here would be particularly cruel and will create so much anxiety.
@stellacreasy.bsky.social is quite right when she says "the Home Secretary needs to come clean asap as there will be refugees with jobs and mortgages that could be affected.”
@stellacreasy.bsky.social is quite right when she says "the Home Secretary needs to come clean asap as there will be refugees with jobs and mortgages that could be affected.”
The i Paper is reporting that once the changes are brought in, the 20 year route will be applied to refugees who are already here.
I can't over emphasise the level of terror this will cause to our refugee population, and the lack of detail and timescale will make it very difficult to calm nerves.
I can't over emphasise the level of terror this will cause to our refugee population, and the lack of detail and timescale will make it very difficult to calm nerves.
November 19, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Applying the changes to settlement to refugees already here would be particularly cruel and will create so much anxiety.
@stellacreasy.bsky.social is quite right when she says "the Home Secretary needs to come clean asap as there will be refugees with jobs and mortgages that could be affected.”
@stellacreasy.bsky.social is quite right when she says "the Home Secretary needs to come clean asap as there will be refugees with jobs and mortgages that could be affected.”
Reposted by Ilona Pinter 🧡
Amid all the asylum reform announcements, the HO finally slipped out its asylum support rates review last week. What does this mean for child poverty?🧵 www.gov.uk/government/p...
Report on review of cash allowance paid to asylum seekers
Home Office reviews of the cash allowance paid to asylum seekers.
www.gov.uk
November 18, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Amid all the asylum reform announcements, the HO finally slipped out its asylum support rates review last week. What does this mean for child poverty?🧵 www.gov.uk/government/p...
Amid all the asylum reform announcements, the HO finally slipped out its asylum support rates review last week. What does this mean for child poverty?🧵 www.gov.uk/government/p...
Report on review of cash allowance paid to asylum seekers
Home Office reviews of the cash allowance paid to asylum seekers.
www.gov.uk
November 18, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Amid all the asylum reform announcements, the HO finally slipped out its asylum support rates review last week. What does this mean for child poverty?🧵 www.gov.uk/government/p...