Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to engage with employers and community leaders in (a) Cornwall and (b) the South West on the EU Settlement Scheme.

Ministers and officials have been engaging with people, communities and businesses across the whole of the UK since the Referendum. This is an absolutely essential part of the Government’s exit approach and is in addition to the four stakeholder groups on the EU Settlement Scheme which meet monthly.

Engagement on the EU Settlement Scheme in the South West, to date, has taken place in Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol and Yeovil. The Government is committed to visiting all nations and regions of the UK, including Cornwall, as part of its engagement programme. This programme is ongoing and will continue beyond the UK leaving the European Union, on 29th March 2019. As part of the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, EU citizens resident in the UK have until 30 June 2021 to apply for their status.