Oral Answers to Questions

Thangam Debbonaire Excerpts

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the case of one of her constituents who has made a significant contribution. I think that we all recognise that from our own constituencies. I trust that she joins me in welcoming the cost-free exchange of EU permanent residence documents for the new settled status documents as one part of the agreement that we have reached. None the less, she is right that we must continue to take this issue seriously.

[Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab)]

Unfortunately, the 3 million EU 27 citizens living in this country and the UK citizens living in the EU 27 do not feel that certainty because of the words

“nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

Will the Government not now commit to putting an amendment down to any of the forthcoming EU Bills to give that certainty?

[Mr Walker]

The hon. Lady will recognise that certainty in a reciprocal deal has to be delivered through the withdrawal agreement, but we have been very clear from the start of this process that we want to protect the rights of citizens and to make sure that they can continue to live their lives as before, and that is a commitment on which we have delivered through the joint resolution last week.