Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the UK leaving the EU will change the rights, responsibilities and status of European citizens resident in the UK with granted settled status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office has introduced the EU Settlement Scheme to enable all qualifying EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members, to obtain an immigration status in the UK.
Obtaining settled status (indefinite leave to remain) under the scheme will ensure EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members have no immigration conditions placed on their residence in the UK, provided they remain resident here. This status will protect, and enable them to demonstrate, their rights to work, education, healthcare, and access to benefits and public services in the UK in line with UK nationals. Where individuals have obtained settled status before the UK leaves the EU, that immigration status will continue to have effect and will not change when we leave.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the EU Settlement Scheme will be fully operational from 29 March; whether there is a system to appeal decisions on applications to that scheme; and if so, how such appeals will be dealt with.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The EU Settlement Scheme opened to all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members covered by the relevant draft withdrawal or separation agreements on 30 March. The scheme is also open to the family members of British citizens who were exercising their free movement rights under EU law before returning to the UK (‘Surinder Singh’ cases) and to those with a derivative right to reside (‘Chen’ and ‘Ibrahim and Teixeira’ cases) from 30 March. Applications can be made to the scheme from outside the UK from 9 April and the scheme will also open to those with a Zambrano right to reside (who are not covered by the draft withdrawal or separation agreements) from 1 May.
If the draft Withdrawal Agreement is agreed, the Government will provide a right of appeal under the scheme through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. If there is no deal, eligibility refusals under the scheme will continue to have a right to administrative review. All refusals will have a right to judicial review. Where a human rights claim is made outside the EU Settlement Scheme and that claim is refused, there is a right of appeal under existing legislation. This is in line with the remedies generally available to non-EEA nationals refused leave to remain in the UK. In either scenario, applicants will be able to reapply to the scheme free of charge if they do not agree with a decision.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of public spaces protection orders and other anti-social behaviour measures to prevent homeless people from sleeping in public open spaces, or to fine and criminalise them; and whether they consider the use of those measures appropriate.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.
Public Spaces Protection Orders and other anti-social behaviour measures should be used proportionately to tackle anti-social behaviour, and not to target specific groups such as homeless people. We refreshed the statutory guidance for frontline professionals on use of the powers in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2014 in December 2017 to make absolutely clear that these orders should not be used to target people based solely on the fact that they are homeless or sleeping in public open spaces.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that there is no gender discrimination built into the application scheme for settled status, including for (1) women who do not have continuous HMRC records, (2) people whose documents are largely in their husband’s name, (3) people who have changed their name due to marriage, change of gender or other reasons, and (4) women who are victims of domestic violence or whose present or former husbands or partners are not willing to co-operate.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The EU Settlement Scheme will accept a wide range of documentation as proof of residence. We have worked closely with our Safeguarding User Group to establish the types of evidence that vulnerable applicants will have available to them.
The automated checks with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions will, in most cases, provide us with the information we need to confirm residence. Where these checks are not sufficient, we allow for alternative ways of proving residence, including methods which do not rely on access to formal documentation.
When the scheme is rolled out fully from 30 March there will be additional provisions allowing applicants who are unable to provide identity documents due to circumstances beyond their control, or for compelling practical or compassionate reasons, to provide alternative evidence of their identity. This may include where such documents are being held by abusive partners or employers.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difficulty faced by public service providers in differentiating between citizens of other EU countries who have (1) applied for, (2) received, and (3) not applied for settled status; and what steps they will take to prevent discrimination against such citizens by (a) employers, (b) landlords, (c) schools and colleges, (d) the NHS, and (e) providers of other public services, following the UK’s departure from the EU, (i) during a transition period, (ii) following a no-deal exit, and (iii) in any circumstance before the deadline for application for settled status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
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 before the introduction of the future skills-based immigration system in 2021
The bodies responsible for conducting statutory eligibility checks, including employers, landlords, the NHS and colleges, will not be required to differentiate between citizens of EU countries resident in the UK who have applied for, been granted or have yet to apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme during any transitional period, including in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The Government’s published White Paper on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system states that we will not require employers to undertake retrospective right to work checks on existing employees when the new system is introduced.
The Government will ensure the position on the status and eligibility of EU citizens to access work and services during this period is clear in guidance to employers and other bodies. All residents of the UK continue to be protected against unlawful discrimination by the Equality Act 2010 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland, and we will work with the statutory equality bodies to monitor the operation of these arrangements. The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the EU Settlement Scheme and the future skills-based immigration system.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children in care in England are citizens of other European countries and do not have dual nationality with the UK; and what steps are they taking to ensure that they are granted settled status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This data is not regularly collected by local authorities.
The Home Office has a comprehensive vulnerability strategy and we are working in partnership with vulnerable group representatives, local authorities and other experts to identify user needs and provide the needed support. Five local authorities participated in the recent Private Beta test phase of the Settlement Scheme and made applications on behalf of some looked after children in their care
Local authorities have been participating in teleconferences to help inform and prepare them for the full opening of the scheme on the 30th of March 2019. In addition, specific guidance is being produced to assist local authorities in making applications on behalf of looked after children and a unique number is available to them to call the Settlement Resolution Centre with access to specialist support.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what monitoring and oversight systems are in place to check the accuracy and reliability of automated checks on applications for settled status by EU citizens in the UK; and in what proportion of cases, in each of the pilot schemes, errors have been found that resulted in the need for the intervention of a person.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Decisions to grant settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are not automated. The scheme does use some elements of automation to make the application process streamlined and user-friendly. Such processes include the self-verification of identity and checks with existing government data. Each of these checks follow established rules to ensure accuracy and reliability.
There are several reasons why the automated element may need specific intervention by a person other than a system error. Inexact information supplied by an applicant, held by Government departments or their employers would mean a match to their records cannot be made or recorded. We do not make adverse decisions, like a decision to refuse an application for settled status, on the basis of automated decision making.
The scheme is still in the pilot phase and will open fully from 30 March. To date, 79% of applicants have been granted status based on government data without having to submit additional residence information. We do not expect a 100% match rate as those without a tax history and not in receipt of benefits or a state pension will have no matched government records.
The Home Office continually monitors all elements of the application process and continually improves them.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the failure of any applicant for settled status by EU citizens in the UK to take out comprehensive health insurance will have any impact on the decision whether to grant such status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK has decided, as a matter of domestic policy, that the main requirement for eligibility under the EU Settlement Scheme will be continuous residence in the UK. Those applying under the scheme will not be required to show that they meet all the requirements of current free movement rules, such as any requirement to have held comprehensive sickness insurance or generally to detail the exercise of specific rights (for example, the right to work) under EU law.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person under the age of 18 can apply for settled status in the UK if none of their parents are able or willing to do so, or otherwise.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A child under the age of 18 can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme independently of their parents.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent staff are working on the EU Settlement Scheme and, of these, how many were recruited from (1) within the Home Office, (2) other government departments, and (3) elsewhere; and how many extra staff they intend to recruit for this purpose (a) before 29 March 2019 and (b) subsequently.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We currently have over 1,200 UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) European Casework staff in post to quickly process EU Settlement Scheme applications. This number will increase to 1,500 staff before the scheme fully launches by 30 March 2019. In addition to this, we are recruiting a further 300 staff for the new customer resolution centre which will proactively support EU citizens through the application process.
We are committed to ensuring that our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
All recruitment has been through fair and open competition, and has encompassed existing Home Office staff, Other Government Department employees, and external recruits. We do not have a breakdown of where staff were previously employed. More detailed information about the previous roles of staff is not available within reasonable costs.