Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the comparative accessibility of the application process for the EU Settlement Scheme for vulnerable people (a) with and (b) without support provided by voluntary and civil society organisations.

There have already been more than 2.5 million people given status through the settlement scheme. The Home Office is always looking at ways to make sure everyone secures the status they are eligible for.

As well as providing funding for charities which have supported hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people, there are more than 1,500 Home Office staff working on the EU Settlement Scheme and 250 Settlement Resolution Centre staff providing assistance to applicants with any questions about the scheme or who need help applying.

Additional support is also available to those EU citizens in the UK who do not have the appropriate access, skills or confidence to apply. This includes over 300 assisted digital locations across the UK where people can be supported through their application.

It is one of several ways people can verify their identity, including by post. There are also over 80 locations where applicants can have their passport scanned and verified across the UK.

The current grant funding scheme continues until the end of March 2020, and the Home Office is currently exploring options