Figure 4: Local authority website scores - survey 2

Local Authority Responses to people with NRPF during the pandemic

(Manchester, 2020). Finally, Trafford Borough Council had an NRPF policy, including information on housing, violence against women and maternity support.

The second survey showed that 14 met the threshold for a rating of ‘good’ and these were Birmingham, Bolton, Brent, Coventry, Croydon, Hackney, Islington, Lewisham, Manchester Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Redbridge, Southwark, Trafford and Wolverhampton (see figure 3).

Figure 4: Local authority website scores - survey 2

5%

50%

45% Good Needs Improvement Inadequate

In both surveys, the majority of websites were rated as ‘needing improvement’, indicating that there was some information on the website about support for people with NRPF but that this information either fell short of a full policy or contained inaccuracies/was misleading. As a result, someone with NRPF trying to find out how to get support during the pandemic would be unlikely to be able to make use of this information (see figure 3).

Most worryingly, in survey one, over 40 percent of local authority websites either did not have any information at all about NRPF, or had information that was out of date, factually inaccurate or misleading and were therefore categorised as inadequate because it would not be possible for someone with NRPF to be able to find out how to get support during the pandemic.

It is important to acknowledge that ten of the local authorities had improved their overall scores by the time of the second website survey. These were: Birmingham, Coventry, Lewisham, Luton, Borough Council, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond Upon Thames, Southwark and Warwickshire.

The most common reason for being rated as needing improvement or inadequate was not including a policy at all - more than two-thirds of local authorities did not have any available information for referrers or people with NRPF during the pandemic (see figure 4). Among those that did, there were a number of ways in which information was inaccurate or misleading.