Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the total number of additional contact staff his Department will employ to answer EU citizens’ immigration and residence queries.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Recruitment is underway to bring existing UKVI European Casework staffing levels to circa 1,500 ahead of the EU Exit Settlement Scheme launch at the end of this year. We are also establishing a new Customer Resolution Centre for the EU Exit Settlement Scheme. This is a brand new ‘in-house’ team who will answer customer enquiries by phone and email seven days a week.
Operational units across the Home Office actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand and will continue to do so throughout negotiations and as the UK leaves the EU. Any resultant changes to resource requirements will be factored into strategic planning.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure safeguards are in place to enable eligible EU citizens to access public funds after the UK leaves the EU and before June 2021.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Safeguarding the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU has always been the top priority for this Government.
The draft Withdrawal Agreement between the UK & the EU, published on 19 March, sets out a fair deal on citizens’ rights, allowing EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens in the EU to get on with their lives broadly as now. They will be able to come and live and work in the UK and have the same access to benefits as they do now, until the end of the implementation period.
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Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what grounds she will accept immigration status and residence applications made by EU citizens after the June 2021 deadline.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
EU citizens, and their family members, who are resident in the UK before the end of the implementation period on 31 December 2020 will have until 30 June 2021 to make their application to the EU settlement scheme. We have agreed with the EU that where there are reasonable compassionate or practical grounds for missing the deadline, those persons will be allowed to submit an application within a reasonable further period of time. A proportionate approach will be taken and cases will be considered on their individual merits.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) elderly and (b) computer illiterate EU citizens living in the UK are given adequate support to acquire the documentation needed for their immigration status applications before June 2021.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Ensuring that vulnerable groups are supported to easily protect their status is a core element in the design of the EU Settlement Scheme. The Home Office is putting in place measures to ensure that the settlement scheme is accessible and capable of handling vulnerable customers with flexibility. Arrangements are being developed to provide a range of direct support offered by the Home Office and indirect support through third parties such as community groups. These will cater for the needs of groups such as the elderly and those considered to be digitally excluded, and include assisted digital support for those that cannot access or aren’t confident with technology. A user group of external stakeholders who represent the needs of potentially vulnerable individuals has been established to work with the Home Office to ensure the right support arrangements are in place.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that it is prepared for the volume of EU citizens living in the UK who apply for (a) an immigration status and (b) residence in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Protecting the status of EU citizens living in the UK and their families, and UK nationals living in the EU, was always our top priority in negotiations. The Home Office is making good progress in developing the EU Settlement Scheme, which will open by the end of the year. We have been discussing the design of the Scheme with stakeholders, including through our monthly user groups, and user testing has already begun. Work is underway to develop the settled status scheme for EU citizens, and a registration scheme to operate alongside for those arriving during the implementation period.
The Home Office constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government’s agenda and we continue to assess how our priorities will impact on the workforce and capabilities required.
We recognise the scale of the challenge, but we already deal effectively with millions of visa, citizenship, passport and immigration status applications each year. Recruitment of additional operating staff is underway to bring existing staffing levels in UK Visas & Immigration to 1,500, ahead of the launch of the Settlement Scheme late this year. With regards to funding, the Chancellor announced in the Spring statement on 13 March that the Home Office will receive a further £395 million funding to prepare for EU exit.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that deportation safeguards are in place for EU citizens (a) before and (b) after June 2021.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
On 19 March 2018, we reached agreement with the EU on citizens’ rights as set out in the draft Withdrawal Agreement. The current EEA deportation test of ‘public policy, and public security and public health’ will continue to apply to any criminal activity committed prior to the end of the implementation period. Any criminal activity committed by an EU citizen or their family member after the end of the implementation period will be considered against UK domestic law for non-EEA nationals. During the implementation period, EU citizens will retain all of the procedural safeguards and protections set out in the Free Movement Directive 2004/38/EC including a statutory right of appeal against any restriction of their free movement rights. The draft Withdrawal Agreement extends those same protections and safeguards to those resident in the UK before 31 December 2020, who will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement thereafter.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the process for registering EU citizens after the UK leaves the EU will be streamlined.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Protecting the status of EU citizens living in the UK and their families, and UK nationals living in the EU, was always our top priority in negotiations. The Home Office is making good progress in developing the EU Settlement Scheme, which will open by the end of the year. We have been discussing the design of the Scheme with stakeholders, including through our monthly user groups, and user testing has already begun. Work is underway to develop the settled status scheme for EU citizens, and a registration scheme to operate alongside for those arriving during the implementation period.
The Home Office constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government’s agenda and we continue to assess how our priorities will impact on the workforce and capabilities required.
We recognise the scale of the challenge, but we already deal effectively with millions of visa, citizenship, passport and immigration status applications each year. Recruitment of additional operating staff is underway to bring existing staffing levels in UK Visas & Immigration to 1,500, ahead of the launch of the Settlement Scheme late this year. With regards to funding, the Chancellor announced in the Spring statement on 13 March that the Home Office will receive a further £395 million funding to prepare for EU exit.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on waiting times at passport control for passengers entering the UK from EU Member States.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We are considering a range of options for the UK’s future immigration system and will be outlining further details of the new system later in the year.
Government departments are working together across a range of complex issues to develop our future approach at the border. These options will be kept under review in light of negotiations with the EU.
We actively monitor workflows at the border to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand and will continue to do so throughout negotiations and as the UK leaves the EU.