Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to continue to allocate funding to organisations that support vulnerable EU nationals to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme from the end of March 2020 until that scheme closes.

On 6 March 2020, the Home Office announced a further £8 million of funding to help vulnerable EU citizens apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. There have already been more than 3.2 million applications to the EU Settle-ment Scheme and nearly 2.9 million granted status, with over a year left to go.

Last year, the Home Office awarded £9 million funding to 57 charities across the UK who have helped hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people already. The further £8 million of funding for the 2020-2021 financial year will ensure important information continues to get through to those hardest to reach.

The 57 charities currently funded by the Home Office will have their funding extended until the end of June 2020, to allow their work to continue during the bidding process for new funding.Successful organisations will be fully supported by the Home Office and will be able to speak to caseworkers directly to discuss individual cases.

As with all government funding, there will be a competitive bidding process to ensure the right support is provided to all parts of the UK and makes best use of public money.

The bid process will begin shortly and more details will be announced in due course.The EU Settlement Scheme was launched in March 2019 and gives EU citizens and their family members the status they need to live and work in the UK after 30 June 2021.

There is a wide range of support available online, over the phone and in person to help them apply.This includes a helpline open 7 days a week where 250 staff based in Liver-pool answer questions and help people apply. There are 1,500 Home Office staff working on the scheme in total.

Home visits and telephone support are available from a tutor for those lacking in digital skills or without internet access.