Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of his Department paying the £65 application fee for settled or pre-settled status for EU nationals (a) employed by and (b) working as an outsourced worker in his Department; what estimate he has made of the total cost to his Department of paying those fees; and what assessment he has made of the risks that the EU Settlement Scheme poses to the retention of EU nationals (i) employed by or (ii) working as an outsourced worker in his Department.

The setting of the fee for the EU Settlement Scheme is proportionate and fair and people have until June 2021 to apply. The department has no plans to cover the cost of the fee for its employers or contractors. The Government has continually made clear that we wish EU citizens already here to continue to live and work broadly as they do now.