Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the grant funding of up to £9 million her Department has made available to voluntary and community sector organisations to support vulnerable EU citizens apply for settled status, whether her Department has plans to extend the provision of that funding beyond the original term agreed; and if she will make a statement.

The EU Settlement Scheme was launched in March 2019 and gives EU citizens and their family members the status they need to live and work in the UK after 30 June 2021. There have already been more than 3.2 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme and nearly 2.9 million granted status, with over a year left to go.

There is a wide range of support available online, over the phone and in person to help them apply. This includes a helpline open 7 days a week where 250 staff based in Liverpool answer questions and help people apply. There are 1,500 Home Office staff working on the scheme in total.

Home visits and telephone support are available from a tutor for those lacking in digital skills or without internet access.

Last year, the Home Office awarded £9 million funding to 57 charities across the UK who have helped hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people already.The 57 charities currently funded by the Home Office will have their funding extended until the end of June 2020, to allow their work to continue during the bidding process for new funding.

On 6 March 2020, the Home Office announced a further £8 million of funding to help vulnerable EU citizens apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8-million-to-help-vulnerable-people-apply-to-the-eu-settlement-scheme

Charities and local authorities will bid for further funding to provide face-to-face, online and telephone support to vulnerable people across the UK. This may include legal support, caseworker services or general advice as either individual or group sessions.

The further £8 million of funding for the 2020-2021 financial year will ensure important information continues to get through to those hardest to reach.As with all government funding, there will be a competitive bidding process to ensure the right support is provided to all parts of the UK and makes best use of public money.

Successful organisations will be fully supported by the Home Office and will be able to speak to caseworkers directly to discuss individual cases.

The bid process will begin shortly and more details will be announced in due course.