Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of non-UK EU children in care who could not take part in his Department's private beta phase test pilot (a) in total and (b) in each local authority pilot site because they did not have a passport.

According to the rules laid before parliament (on 11/10/2018) for the second Private Beta phase of the EU Settlement Scheme, only a child being looked after (within the meaning of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) by one of the five named local authorities, with a chipped passport, was eligible to apply.

The Home Office did not estimate the number of children who could not take part in the Private Beta phase because they did not have a passport.

All EU applicants, including looked after children, will be able to apply with an ID card or a passport once the scheme is rolled out fully from 30 March 2019. In addition, from that date it will be possible for applicants to submit alternative evidence of their identity and nationality where they are unable to provide a passport or national identity card due to circumstances outside of their control, or for compelling practical or compassionate reasons.