Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost of the inquiry undertaken by the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens' Rights Agreements into delays issuing decisions on applications to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements does not record the cost of individual inquiries.
Costs to the Independent Monitoring Authority largely comprise staffing. The inquiry was primarily delivered by a small core team - three members of staff at any one time - who were also involved in other operational work.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, published on 5 March (HC1691), what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who will be affected by the changes to the EU Settlement Scheme to extend the period to 60 months in which an individual can use an expired biometric residence card as proof of their identity and nationality; and on what evidential basis that decision was taken.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The change in HC1691 extends the current provision which allows a non-EEA national to use an expired biometric residence card (BRC) as proof of their identity and nationality, where the BRC is up to 18 months expired. The change therefore allows a wider cohort of BRC holders to remain on a fully digital application journey, without having to attend a UK visa application centre. It also assists wider UK Visas and Immigration customers by lowering demand on UK Visas and Citizenship Application Services.