Charlotte....meets Meg Hillier MP

What I found encouraging was my MPs understanding and awareness of the issue – she knew about local services and the issues that women's services face in terms of the complex process when a woman needs support and is applying for indefinate leave to remain.

 What I found frustrating was her commitment to the Home Office line that immigrants will come here and try to abuse the system and claim benefits – how can you even be this cynical when we are talking about women experiencing abuse and violence and whose only other alternative is destitution?

This worries me in terms of the pilot proposal as well - if this results in an increase of women (currently approximately 600 a year) because more women feel able to escape abuse and seek support when before they had no option, will this be seen as an increase of immigrant women 'abusing' the system?

 What I did not get from Meg Hillier MP were any firm commitments as to what she personally was going to do about this issue – hopefully she will use her position in the Home Office to positively effect and influence change to the No Recourse rule and abolish it, hopefully she will push for this to be included in the Labour Party manifesto, hopefully she will contact the Minister for Women about funding to vital specialist and gender-based violence services – we will have to wait and see!