Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision he plans to make in the EU Settlement scheme for those who have held pre-settled status for five years but cannot qualify for settled status due to excessive absences.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
To be eligible for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, applicants will generally be required to demonstrate continuous residence in the UK for a minimum of five years in one of the eligible categories. This reflects the continuous residence criteria for the acquisition of ‘permanent residence’ under the Free Movement Directive, and the approach agreed with the European Union in the draft Withdrawal Agreement.
Should an applicant not be immediately eligible for settled status, and instead be granted pre-settled status (five years’ limited leave to remain), they must continue to meet these continuous residence criteria in order to qualify for settled status. This will be made clear to them when they are granted pre-settled status.
Those granted pre-settled status who are not eligible for settled status before the expiry of their five years’ limited leave to remain, owing to excess absence(s) from the UK, will have the option of applying for leave to remain under the new skills-based immigration system.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's Immigration White Paper on the level of staffing for (a) clinical roles in the NHS, (b) non-clinical roles in the NHS and (c) the social care sector.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The White Paper sets out a new immigration system that will work in the interests of the United Kingdom. The future system will focus on high skills, welcoming talented and hardworking individuals that will support the UK’s dynamic economy, brilliant National Health Service and indispensable social care services.
For skilled migrants there will be no cap on numbers. This will mean that all skilled roles – whether clinical or non-clinical – will benefit from the certainty that already exists for doctors and nurses, will give the NHS and social care providers the confidence that they will be able to bring in any suitably skilled migrant and enable the Government to process cases immediately. We will also abolish the Resident Labour Market Test for skilled workers – this will remove a month from the process of recruiting from overseas.
We will also introduce a time limited route for temporary short-term workers of all skill levels. It is likely, however, that there could be some decrease in the flow of so called lower skilled workers from abroad. We know we need to redouble our efforts to promote jobs in the NHS and social care to the domestic workforce and we have has made improving the working lives of the millions of people who work in health and social care one of our top priorities, and why we have launched recruitment campaigns for both the NHS and social care. We are also clear that we want the 167,000 European Union nationals who currently work in the health and social care sectors to stay in the UK after we leave the EU, and in December 2018 they were able to apply for settled status early as part of the testing phase of the wider scheme.
We continue to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the NHS and adult social care, including the impact of the proposed future immigration system.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations his Department has received from banks and banking bodies on the immigration checks that they will be required to carry out on EU citizens when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.
The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.
The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date the digital portal through which employers will carry out digital right to work checks on EU citizens is planned to be rolled out.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.
The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.
The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information employers will be able to see through the digital portal through which they will be able to conduct right to work checks on EU citizens.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.
The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.
The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations his Department has received from landlord bodies on the right to rent checks that they will be required to carry out on EU citizens when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.
The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.
The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations his Department has received from employer bodies on the right to work checks that they will be required to carry out on EU citizens when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.
The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.
The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of any backstop period, when the UK remained part of the Customs Union after leaving the EU, on the UK’s ability to negotiate trade deals with foreign countries.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The UK and EU agreed at the March European Council that we will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify new trade agreements with old friends — and new allies — around the globe from the day of our exit from the EU and at the start of the implementation period. The Department for International Trade's priority for now is to be in a position to begin formal negotiations with key partners immediately after we leave the EU. The backstop solution put forward by the EU is not acceptable and that’s why the UK will be bringing forward its own proposal. We want to make progress as soon as possible.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what (a) quantitative and (b) qualitative analysis his Department has conducted with the Department for International Trade to identify trading opportunities for Wales with countries with which the European Union does not have a trade deal.
Answered by Alun Cairns
I am working with my colleagues in the Department for International Trade to identify future trading opportunities, post EU exit.
The UK Government has established working group and high-level dialogues with a range of key trade partners, including the United States, Australia, China, Japan, India, the Gulf Cooperation Council and New Zealand. Our priority is to be in a position to begin formal negotiations with key partners immediately after we leave the EU and progress towards substantive deals as swiftly as possible so long as such deals work for Wales and the UK.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether non-UK EU nationals who were resident in the UK before 1973 have a legal right to abode in the UK that is separate from their rights as EU citizens under the Treaties of the European Union.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The right of abode is a statutory right which is held by British citizens and Commonwealth citizens who had right of abode immediately before 1 January 1983 and have not ceased to be Commonwealth citizens at any time.
EU citizens who were present and settled in the UK on 1 January 1973 were deemed to have indefinite leave to remain, by virtue of section 1(2) of the Immigration Act 1971. As long as they have continued to reside in the UK and have not had their indefinite leave revoked, they will have retained that settled status.