Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the statement by the Minister of Immigration on 21 June (HC Deb, cols 508–20) that vulnerable EU citizens applying for settled status will be provided with assistance at contact centres, whether comparable support is provided for children and young people applying for limited leave to remain or citizenship; and if not, why not.

All customers, including children and young people, have access to customer contact centre services when making an application in any category. Staff at the centre will signpost the customer to the most appropriate part of guidance available on GOV.UK, and where appropriate they will direct them to support services outside of the Home Office.

The contact centre staff are trained to identify, support and escalate any vulnerable cases, including vulnerable children, vulnerable adults and those with assisted digital needs. These customer enquiries are then referred on to the appropriate team.

We continually review training guidance and procedures for our contact centre staff to ensure any vulnerable groups are identified and supported as necessary.