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Funding to help vulnerable EU settlement applicants set to run out within weeks
From independent.co.uk:
Vulnerable EU nationals could be left without “vital” support to assist them with applying for post-Brexit immigration status because Home Office funding that was granted for this purpose is set to end in weeks.
Charities helping harder-to-reach EU citizens – such as homeless people, domestic abuse victims and children in care – to apply for EU settled status say they are being forced to cut back on this service because the department has refused to guarantee any funding beyond March 2020.
Fifty-seven organisations in the UK were granted a total of £9m from the department last April to provide practical support to an estimated 200,000 vulnerable or at-risk people applying to the scheme – which they must do in order to retain immigration rights after Brexit.
However, the support has only been guaranteed until March and the Home Office has announced no plans for any extension, which campaigners said risked leaving a “gap” in provision.
The Home Office has announced further £8 million funding for the 2020-2021 financial year -
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 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.
New:
A further £4.5 million of funding has been announced today for the network of 72 organisations across the UK who support the vulnerable and hard to reach in applying to the scheme. This is on top of the £17 million already provided.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-eu-settlement-scheme-reaches-five-million-applications