Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support those who have been unable to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme because of the pandemic.

The Home Office remains committed to ensuring those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme can apply, including those who are vulnerable or need extra support. £22 million of funding has been awarded to a network of 72 charities and local authorities across the UK, to ensure important information and assistance gets through to those who are hardest to reach, and no one is left behind. These organisations have helped more than 310,000 vulnerable people to apply to the EUSS already.

The Home Office has a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working on the EUSS, with support available to applicants seven days a week by telephone and by email.

To maximise the intake of applications by 30 June deadline, changes have been made to the postal route for paper applications. The new process enables completed paper applications to be emailed directly to the team handling applications.

We appreciate the pandemic has had an impact on many people’s ability to travel. Hence on 10 June, the Home Office published revised guidance on permitted absences because of COVID-19 under the EU Settlement Scheme. The guidance provides further clarity and flexibility for EU citizens and their family members to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and to otherwise maintain their continuous residence.

The Home Office has delivered a comprehensive range of communications activity, at a cost of £8m, to increase awareness of the EUSS, engaging extensively with a wide range of stakeholder organisations and other government departments, to provide the materials they need to communicate about the Settlement Scheme.

This includes toolkits, assets and information translated into 26 EEA languages, and Welsh, for local authorities, community groups, employers and the Grant Funded Network, who work closely with vulnerable, hard to reach audiences to provide application support.

Information about how applicants can seek help and support with their application through the EU Settlement Resolution Centre, or via Assisted Digital for those who need digital support, is provided on GOV.UK.