Children in Care: Brexit
(asked on 1st October 2020) - View Source
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children in each EU and EEA country who are UK citizens; which Government department or body has responsibility for looking after the interests of such children; what plans they have to provide special consular, or other, support services to those children after 31 December; and what steps they are taking to ensure that such children can exercise their rights under the EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Withdrawal Agreement ensures that UK nationals living in the EU can stay in their host country and continue living broadly as they do now. This includes children of UK nationals. It is not possible to track precisely the number of UK nationals in the EU, nor the number of children. However, the latest analysis from the Office of National Statistics from April 2018 estimated that 59,600 were aged under 15 years.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is responsible for policy relating to the rights of UK nationals living in the EU. Member States also have an obligation to ensure that UK nationals in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement living in their country are protected. When providing Consular assistance, the safety and welfare of children is paramount. It is the primary concern of FCDO when providing consular assistance to young people. The FCDO will provide assistance to vulnerable UK nationals in the EU, including children, after 31 December, in line with FCDO consular policy. We consider that someone is vulnerable when they cannot protect themselves from significant physical or emotional harm, or be protected by others.
The Government is supporting UK nationals, including families with children, to exercise their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. This includes support through the UK National Support Fund (UKNSF), which has allocated £3 million to external organisations to provide practical support to UK nationals who may have difficulty completing their residency applications.