Lucy Mort
@lucyhbmort.bsky.social
780 followers 310 following 24 posts
Senior Research Fellow at IPPR. Work on migration and cohesion. Care about creating a fairer and more just world.
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Reposted by Lucy Mort
gmiau.bsky.social
🚨We have published a NEW REPORT sharing the experiences of children from our All4One youth group who were wrongly treated as adults by the Home Office.

These children arrived in the UK alone seeking asylum, were declared “significantly over 18” at the border and sent alone to adult asylum hotels.
New Report - “This system destroys you”: Children trapped in adult asylum hotels by the Home Office - GMIAU
Our new report on children who have been wrongly sent to adult asylum hotels by the UK Home Office.
gmiau.org
Reposted by Lucy Mort
josephinewy.bsky.social
When 1 in 3 of the 4.3 million children living in poverty are children in migrant households, the government just will not be able to cut poverty levels without action for this group of kids
Reposted by Lucy Mort
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Bravo Rivka ✨👏
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
One provider out, another with its own chequered history in. Meanwhile, costs continue to climb. This Times article cites @ippr.bsky.social research: annual costs per person have risen from £17k to 41k since 2020.

⏳2026 is a critical opportunity to break free from a failing system.

bit.ly/4hGnWTW
Bibby Stockholm firm replaces Stay Belvedere Hotels in migrant contract
Corporate Travel Management was criticised for its running of the barge in Portland, south Dorset, which was opened by the last government
www.thetimes.com
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
This time last week I spoke at the Home Affairs Select Committee about fixing our asylum accommodation system. We urgently need to shift power regionally and locally, improve safeguarding, and move away from mass sites - towards community solutions that work for everyone.
ippr.org
The asylum accommodation system is in urgent need of reform. It’s costing far too much while failing to provide people fleeing war and persecution with the safe, clean environments they need.

📺 @lucyhbmort.bsky.social speaking to Home Affairs Committee 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJVF...
Dr Lucy Mort at the Home Affairs Committee discussing asylum accommodation
YouTube video by Institute for Public Policy Research
www.youtube.com
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
ICYMI: See also this wonderful write up of our report in the @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
If the government is serious about opportunity for all children, it must ensure childcare access isn’t blocked by immigration status.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
The fix is simple: Remove immigration-based restrictions on childcare support.

This would:
✅ Help parents work & support their families
✅ Reduce child poverty
✅ Improve school readiness & social cohesion
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Take Efia, a single mum earning £950/month - she had to quit her job because £756 went straight to nursery fees. How is that sustainable?
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
New data shows:
📉 41% of parents without childcare say it stops them from working
📉 50% say household finances have worsened
📉 Kids are falling behind before they even start school
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Thousands of families - many with British children - are denied 30 hours of free childcare simply because of their immigration status. That means:
🚫 Parents unable to work
💰 Families struggling to afford basics
👶 Kids missing out on early education & social interaction
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Last week, @josephinewy.bsky.social and I published a report on childcare - specifically, how migrant families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) are locked out of childcare support, pushing them deeper into poverty and holding back their children. 🧵👇
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Instead of a race to the bottom, we need:
✅ A system that recognises contribution
✅ Security & stability for migrants & families
✅ Policies that build cohesion, not exclusion.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
None of this actually helps. It doesn’t reduce migration. It doesn’t help communities. And it doesn’t reflect public opinion - most people support fair routes to settlement.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
🔹 Meanwhile, the government has changed policy to permanently bar refugees arriving irregularly from ever becoming citizens. It’s a reaction to Tory attacks - but it won’t stop people coming. It will just entrench exclusion.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
🚫 They also plan to deny settlement (ie ILR) to anyone who doesn’t meet a “net contribution” test (a nightmare to measure fairly) & ban people arriving via small boats from ever settling, no matter their circumstances. These are bad ideas.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
🔹 The Conservatives essentially want to extend the 10-year route to all migrants. That means more people stuck on expensive, temporary visas for a decade or more - pushing families into poverty & insecurity.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
I wrote a blog about the UK’s citizenship & settlement policies - and how both the Conservatives & Labour are making decisions that will trap people in precarity without solving anything. A quick thread on why this matters 🧵👇
ippr.org
📢 | NEW BLOG: Moving from temporary status to citizenship is the cornerstone of a fair immigration system. But recent policy announcements signal a shift towards instability and precarity. This blog makes the case against a reactive, short-term approach. Read more 👇
Citizenship: A race to the bottom? | IPPR
A dangerous shift in citizenship policyThis progression provides individuals with security, fosters stronger communities as people establish their lives in
www.ippr.org
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
Have you spotted a familiar office door while watching Black Doves yet!? 👀
Reposted by Lucy Mort
josephinewy.bsky.social
Great report from @savechildrenuk.bsky.social & @ippr.bsky.social highlighting urgent need for early years system to intentionally target closing the disadvantage gap. Key to this is be removing immigration restrictions, otherwise some of poorest children will continue to be left out
savechildrenuk.bsky.social
🚨 NEW: 2/3 of England's poorest families are missing out on childcare, analysis by @ippr.bsky.social and Save the Children has found.

Without urgent changes, free childcare expansion could miss the families who need it most.

Childcare should be for every child, not just those who can afford it.
Reposted by Lucy Mort
savechildrenuk.bsky.social
🚨 NEW: 2/3 of England's poorest families are missing out on childcare, analysis by @ippr.bsky.social and Save the Children has found.

Without urgent changes, free childcare expansion could miss the families who need it most.

Childcare should be for every child, not just those who can afford it.
lucyhbmort.bsky.social
New report on childcare from @jodier.bsky.social and @jamie-ohalloran.bsky.social. Highlights that many families are excluded from essential childcare provision, including those with no recourse to public funds.

Look out for detailed research from @josephinewy.bsky.social on this in the new year!
ippr.org
👶 | NEW REPORT: The massive expansion of free childcare currently underway is at risk of not delivering for poorer and rural families. This paper considers some of the key delivery challenges and reimagines childcare as a proper public service.

www.ippr.org/articles/the...
The childcare challenge: How can the new government deliver a real childcare guarantee? | IPPR
The newly elected Labour government has picked up where the previous government left off, by committing to continuing the plans to roll out ‘free’ hours an
www.ippr.org