Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the eligibility criteria are for existing family members when applying for settled status after 31 December 2020 but before 29 March 2022.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government’s priority remains to leave the European Union with a deal.
In the event that we leave the EU without a deal, the EU Settlement Scheme will continue to operate for EU citizens resident here by exit. They would be able to be joined in the UK under the scheme, by 29 March 2022, by existing close family members (spouses, partners, children, parents and grandparents), where the relationship existed by exit (or where a child was born overseas after this date) and continued to exist when the family member applied.
Details of the policy on citizens’ rights in a no deal Brexit were published on 6 December 2018 and are available here:
Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 170, which would implement the relevant changes to the EU Settlement Scheme in the event of a no deal Brexit, was laid before Parliament on 24 October 2019 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-170-24-october-2019.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of economic effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and whether that assessment has changed compared with assessments made before 29 March 2019.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We would prefer to leave with a deal, and we continue to work in an energetic and determined way to get that better deal.
The Government is turbocharging preparations to ensure we are ready to leave with or without a deal on 31 October, and all necessary funds will be made available.
The fundamentals of the British economy are strong – real wages are growing; employment is at a record high and the unemployment rate is at a historic low.
Short-term forecasting is undertaken by the Office for Budget Responsibility in line with its statutory duty. In line with its remit, the OBR’s forecasts include the economic and fiscal impact of government policy on EU exit where the effects can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
The Bank of England has provided analysis of the EU exit impacts on the UK economy consistent with its responsibilities on monetary policy.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications his Department has received from UK hauliers for European Council of Ministers for Transport international driving permits; how many of those licences are available; and how many of those licences have been issued.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK had an allocation of 1,610 annual European Conference of Minister of Transport (ECMT) permits and 4,824 short-term permits available for hauliers to use in 2019.
In preparation for leaving the EU in March 2019, 2,145 UK goods vehicle operator licence holders applied for 11,976 ECMT annual permits. 774 annual permits were subsequently issued, with many hauliers declining to take up their allocation. As of 30 August 2019, ECMT permits for use in November and December 2019 are available to purchase.
If we leave the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019, most journeys will be allowed until at least 31 December 2019 under an EU contingency regulation. A small proportion of journeys are not covered by the regulation. The European Commission has on 4 September 2019 published a proposal to extend the regulation until 31 July 2020. The proposal, when combined with the ECMT system, would ensure that 99% of trips to the EU could continue to operate as they currently do for the first four months of the Regulation.
UK hauliers who need to transit the EU/EEA to third countries or who carry out three cross-trade movements within seven days can now apply for short-term permits via the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s digital service for journeys during November and December 2019.
The UK also has historic bilateral agreements and it is our view that the majority of them would revive in an absence of an EU wide measure.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many trade deals her Department is aiming to complete before 31 October 2019.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Government is committed to leaving the EU on 31st October and is seeking a new deal with the EU. At this late stage, we believe that it is still possible for the UK to leave the EU with a deal and will work to make this happen.
We have been making preparations in the event we choose to leave the EU without a deal. To date, the UK has signed or agreed in principle agreements with countries that account for 64% of the UK’s trade with all the countries with which the UK is seeking continuity in the event of a potential No Deal. That has moved from 28% since March. We continue to work intensively on remaining agreements to minimise disruption as far as possible.
A regularly updated list of agreements signed is available on GOV.UK and alongside a list of remaining agreements: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/existing-trade-agreements-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal/existing-trade-agreements-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal
Asked by: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Democrat - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what parts of the Government’s plan for workplace rights in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal have been implemented.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government’s plan for workplace rights in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal has been implemented.
We laid no deal Employment Rights SIs earlier this year. These SIs were passed on 4th March 2019 and will come into effect on exit day in the event of no-deal. These SIs ensure that we are upholding the commitment not to roll back workers’ rights as we leave the EU.
The Government has prepared guidance for businesses and individuals to help prepare for a no-deal exit from the EU. This includes guidance on employment rights. All guidance for a no deal scenario is published on the internet: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-to-prepare-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-with-no-deal
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact on the ability of the NHS to recruit experienced staff from the EU of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and what plans they have to make up any shortfall in numbers of staff.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government recognises the need for the National Health Service to be able to recruit effectively from abroad and the Immigration White Paper, The UK’s future skills-based immigration system, published in December 2018, sets out the foundation for a single immigration system, where it is workers’ skills that matter, not where they come from.
The Government has taken steps to ensure that European Union citizens can continue to come and work in the NHS once we have left the EU. In March 2019, we put in place legislation that ensures the continued recognition of qualifications from EU countries by all professional regulators covering the health and social care sectors. This means that EU citizens will continue to be able to come and practice in the United Kingdom once we have left the EU, even if we leave without a ‘deal’.
The NHS Long Term Plan and interim People Plan have both set out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the NHS will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors have the time they need to care, working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. The interim People Plan sets out how part of this will be made up from an expansion of international recruitment of NHS staff.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the growth of technology firms in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Margot James
We are confident the digital technology sector and its startup community will continue to go from strength to strength. Our ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business - and that ambition remains after we leave the EU. Tech Nation and Dealroom have released figures showing that investment in UK tech reached £6.8 billion ($8.7bn) last year and has already reached £3.8 billion ($4.8bn) in the first half of 2019, showing that the UK tech ecosystem is world-leading and in a strong position.
We are investing in the areas the sector needs: adequate access to both finance and talent. That is why for finance, Government announced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme, which is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment, in order to support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and go global. To continue to attract international talent, we have doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000, and taken doctors and nurses out of the Tier 2 visa cap, freeing up many more skilled worker visas to other sectors, including tech. At the end of March this year, we also launched the new Start-Up and Innovator visa routes for entrepreneurs.
In addition, at London Tech Week in June the PM launched a study into tech competitiveness - this will identify key opportunities and support mechanisms for business growth in the digital tech sector. And Tech Nation supports businesses across the UK to enable continued growth of the digital tech sector. Government funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the number of NHS staff recruited from EU member states after Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government recognises the need to be able to recruit effectively from abroad and the Immigration White Paper, The UK’s future skills-based immigration system, published in December 2018, sets out the foundation for a single immigration system, where it is workers’ skills that matter, not where they come from. This system will streamline the high-skilled visa route, by removing the Resident Labour Market Test and the Tier 2 Visa Cap. The Home Office is undertaking a programme of engagement to discuss the proposed measures with colleagues across Government and industry, to develop a future immigration system that works for the whole of the United Kingdom.
The Government wants to support the National Health Service in expanding international recruitment more widely, as this clearly has a role to play to meeting staffing shortages, especially in the short term. Recruitment of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual NHS organisations, a number of which do actively recruit from overseas, including from countries in the European Union. However, we also recognise the need to boost our domestic workforce as well. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that, over the next 10 years, the NHS will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors are working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. Details of this will be explored more fully in the forthcoming Interim NHS People Plan.
The Government has taken steps to ensure that EU citizens can continue to come and work in the NHS once we have left the EU. In March 2019, we put in place legislation that ensures the continued recognition of qualifications from EU countries by all professional regulators covering the health and social care sectors. This means that EU citizens will continue to be able to come and practice in the UK once we have left the EU, even if we leave without a deal.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of insulin procured before 29 March 2019 as part of preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal that has been (a) destroyed, (b) redistributed and (c) sold back to manufacturers.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department fully understands that maintaining access to insulin is vitally important to many people in this country.
The Government remains committed to leaving the European Union with a deal. We have now reached agreement with the EU on an extension to the Article 50 period until 31 October at the latest, with the option to leave earlier as soon as a Withdrawal Agreement has been ratified.
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, there will be an implementation period running till the end of 2020, during which there will be no changes to the current trading arrangements with the EU. Therefore, if the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified, the supply of medicines will continue on the same basis it does now during this period.
Leaving without a deal remains the legal default at the end of the extension period if no Withdrawal Agreement is agreed. Therefore, as a responsible Government, we will continue to prepare to minimise any disruption to the supply of medicines and medical products in a potential ‘no deal’ scenario.
We are continuing to work with trade bodies and other stakeholders to review the position carefully before sharing further guidance at the earliest opportunity. Stockpiled medicines were not procured by the Department as part of our ‘no deal’ plans and remain the property of medicines suppliers. On 26 April we wrote to pharmaceutical companies, including those who supply insulin, asking in the meantime, that all ‘no deal’ measures (such as stockpiles, additional buffer stocks etc) should remain in place but on hold until further guidance is available.
We are confident that if everyone, including suppliers, freight companies, our European neighbours, and the health and care system, does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products should be uninterrupted in the event we leave the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guarantees, if any, they have made of the healthcare benefits available to British citizens residing in EU countries post-Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Subject to Parliament ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement, in a deal scenario current reciprocal healthcare rights will continue during the implementation period until 31 December 2020. The Withdrawal Agreement and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) Agreements also give longer-term reciprocal healthcare rights to those who are living in or previously worked in the other country on exit day.
Further to this, on 19 March 2019 I laid a written statement (HLWS1396) outlining the Department’s plans for the continuity of reciprocal healthcare arrangements in the event we exit the European Union without a deal. This statement includes specific guidance for United Kingdom nationals residing in EU countries post-exit.
The UK has proposed to EU Member States and EFTA states that we should maintain the existing healthcare arrangements, in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal up until 31 December 2020.
As well as seeking an extension of the current arrangements, we have made a guarantee to EU member states that we will reimburse Member States for treatments that were ongoing on exit day, for up to one year where this is necessary.
This guarantee requires reciprocity from the EU or individual Member States and cannot be implemented unilaterally. The UK Government is seeking agreements with Member States, so that no individual, including UK nationals living in other EU Member States, will face sudden changes to their healthcare cover. These discussions are ongoing.
The Government has brought forward legislation to enable us to implement new reciprocal healthcare arrangements. The Healthcare (European Economic Area and Switzerland Arrangements) Act received Royal Assent on 26 March 2019 and will provide us with the power to fund and implement comprehensive reciprocal healthcare arrangements after we leave the EU. We have also laid three Statutory Instruments which will give us the specific legal basis to implement our proposal.
General information is available online on the GOV.UK website and country-specific advice can be found under the relevant sections of NHS.UK.