Forum Home → Discussion → Access to justice and advice sector issues → Thread
EU Referendum and UK poverty
Exiting the EU: Publication of Legal Advice ...
Following the Motion passed on 4 December in the House of Commons, the Government has published the Attorney General’s legal advice to Cabinet on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and made this available to Parliament. This is the full, final advice that the Attorney General provided to Cabinet on 14 November on the legal effect of the Withdrawal Agreement.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exiting-the-eu-publication-of-legal-advice
The Advocate General has given his opinion in Case C-621/18 Wightman: Article 50 TFEU notification of the intention to withdraw from the EU can be revoked unilaterally under certain conditions.
The ECJ has said that it will deliver its judgment on Monday (the day before the ‘meaningful’ vote in Parliament)
#Brexit: the ruling on the reversibility of #Article50 TEU (case C-621/18 Wightman) will be delivered on 10th December at 9 CET
https://twitter.com/EUCourtPress/status/1070594350948761600
Government statement yesterday and policy paper on protecting EU citizens rights in the UK and UK citizens rights in the EU if there is no deal.
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay said in his statement-
‘In an unlikely no deal scenario the Government is committing to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members resident in the UK by 29 March 2019, so that they can continue to work, study and access benefits and services on the same basis as now.
As there would be no agreed implementation period, EU citizens and their family members resident here by 29 March 2019 would have until 31 December 2020 to apply for a status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The process will be simple and streamlined.’
Government statement yesterday and policy paper on protecting EU citizens rights in the UK and UK citizens rights in the EU if there is no deal.
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay said in his statement-
‘In an unlikely no deal scenario the Government is committing to protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members resident in the UK by 29 March 2019, so that they can continue to work, study and access benefits and services on the same basis as now.
As there would be no agreed implementation period, EU citizens and their family members resident here by 29 March 2019 would have until 31 December 2020 to apply for a status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The process will be simple and streamlined.’
I’d love a bit of “simple and streamlined” and when I see it, it will be a first!
Deatils of the Assisted Digital Scheme for people who struggle to use IT who want to claim settled status.
The Advocate General has given his opinion in Case C-621/18 Wightman: Article 50 TFEU notification of the intention to withdraw from the EU can be revoked unilaterally under certain conditions.
The ECJ has said that it will deliver its judgment on Monday (the day before the ‘meaningful’ vote in Parliament)
#Brexit: the ruling on the reversibility of #Article50 TEU (case C-621/18 Wightman) will be delivered on 10th December at 9 CET
CJEU decision today Wightman Case C-621/18 rules that Britain can unilaterally revoke Article 50 and, in contrast to the Advocate General opinion, found that unilateral revocation was a sovereign right for any Member State to pursue without any conditions attached, beyond the decision to revoke needing to follow a ‘democratic process’.
See also House of Commons library briefing on Brexit: Article 50 TEU at the CJEU
[ Edited: 10 Dec 2018 at 03:13 pm by Stuart ]Looking like tomorrow’s ‘meaningful vote’ may be off ... from Twitter:
- Cabinet ministers put on standby for emergency conference call with PM in next half hour
- Cabinet conference call at 11.30
- Two cabinet sources tell me vote being pulled - not, repeat not, yet officially confirmed
- Breaking: The Prime Minister will be making an oral statement today at 330pm titled “Exiting the European Union”.
- Leadsom statement on Commons business expected to follow PM statement this afternoon, which implies they are indeed pulling the vote
There will be three Government oral statements in the House of Commons today:
1 - Theresa May: Exiting the EU
2 - Andrea Leadsom: Business Statement
3 - Stephen Barclay: EU Exit - Article 50
Home Office have emailed about the settled status scheme.
This is the latest information on the EU Settlement Scheme for EU citizens in the UK. You are receiving this because you have requested email updates from the UK government.
The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union today set out information for EU citizens and their family members in the UK in the event of a no deal exit from the EU.
The UK Government:
•Confirms that if there is no deal, the EU Settlement Scheme will continue to be implemented, enabling EU citizens and their family members living in the UK by 29 March 2019 to secure their status and continue to be able to work, study, and access benefits and services in the UK on the same basis after we exit the EU as they do now. The scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019 as planned.
•Confirms that the Home Office will continue to look to grant status rather than refuse and in line with the UK commitment to be more generous in certain respects than the draft Withdrawal Agreement, a person will not be refused status under the EU Settlement Scheme because, for example, they are not economically active or they do not hold comprehensive sickness insurance.
There would be some changes to the EU Settlement Scheme if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and further details are set out in the policy document. In particular, as there will be no agreed implementation period, the application deadline will be brought forward to 31 December 2020.
You do not need to do anything for now. The EU Settlement Scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019.
Further information about the scheme can be found on GOV.UK.
Given the complete and utter shambles on-going in Westminster, whether this information has any real meaning currently is completely beyond my simple mind…..
PM has said today that -
- the (next) Brexit debate will be held in the week beginning 7 January 2019
- the (postponed) meaningful vote will now take place in w/c 14 January 2019
(Unless of course any of that changes ..................)
New in Scotland:
Scotland’s Citizens Advice network will provide a new advice service to European citizens in Scotland affected by changes in the immigration rules as a result of Brexit.
Funded by £800,000 over three years by the Scottish Government, Citizens Advice Bureaux will begin increasing capacity to offer advice and support immediately, with a view to the full service being live at the beginning of March 2019.
Citizens Advice Bureaux will advise on rights, entitlements and requirements, many of which are devolved, which are affected by an individual’s immigration status. As an additional support to advisers, a solicitor-led helpline will also be established for difficult and complex cases.
More: https://news.gov.scot/news/information-and-advice-for-eu-citizens
Current turmoil aside, have a read of some of these reviews!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.gov.HomeOffice.ho1
PM has said today that -
- the (next) Brexit debate will be held in the week beginning 7 January 2019
- the (postponed) meaningful vote will now take place in w/c 14 January 2019(Unless of course any of that changes ..................)
I really ought to get my hearing checked. I thought she said:
- the (next) Brexit debacle will be held in the week beginning 7 January 2019
No scaremongering going on here, ooooo noooooo…...
3,500 troops on standby to help in event of any no-deal Brexit crisis, MPs told
Tucked away in today’s immigration white paper ...
.... an ‘Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill’ is to be published on Thursday 20 December 2018 -
The Bill will repeal section 7(1) of the Immigration Act 1988 which provides that EU citizens exercising Treaty rights are not subject to UK immigration control i.e. they do not needleave to enter and stay in the UK.
The Bill will also protect the status of Irish citizens once Free Movement ends. This means Irish citizens will be free to enter and remain in the UK without restriction unless they are subject to a deportation order, exclusion order or an international travel ban.
The Bill will also enable us to ensure that UK legislation is coherent once the UK has exited the EU and EU citizens and their family members become subject to UK immigration law. This includes, for example, repeal of references to EU legislation in our domestic law where they are no longer valid. The Bill will include a power to make consequential, transitional, transitory and savings provisions as required once the future immigration arrangements have been finalised – for example, to enable us to align our existing immigration laws for EU citizens arriving after the end of the Implementation Period, with non-EU nationals to the extent we wish to do so and depending on the final agreement about the future immigration system for EU citizens.
The Bill will also include provision allowing amendments to be made to retained direct EU legislation relating to social security co-ordination.
Detailed arrangements for how EU migration will be controlled once the UK leaves the EU will continue to be set out in Immigration Rules and secondary legislation, providing flexibility and allowing us to reflect changing circumstances
From the Times:
Leaked DWP document outlines planning for three Brexit scenarios including “chaotic no-deal”
This worst-case scenario ... would lead to a “major recession similar in scale to 2008-09 with inflows to jobseekers’ allowance and universal credit reaching a similar scale to inflow to JSA seen after the financial crash”. Under the chaotic scenario, the number of new people claiming JSA each month would grow to 410,000. At present about 140,000 new claimants are expected to go on JSA each month. This would have a huge impact on the benefits bill. The forecast suggests that costs would rise £1.6 billion next year, £5.3 billion in 2020 and £4.7 billion in 2021.
The document says officials across Whitehall must “explore how we would deal with a rise in homelessness and other potential societal impacts like a rise in suicide rates or an increase in food banks use”. It says Whitehall must “develop a ‘war gaming’ exercise to play out and test our contingency plans.”
In the event of a chaotic exit, the DWP will reduce staff training, increase overtime and rehire retired staff.
A DWP spokesman said that it did not comment on leaked documents. The document has not been seen by Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a76bbbb2-fd96-11e8-92e0-7fb8092617eb
Written statement from the Brexit Secretary ...
The UK has reached agreement with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (the ‘EEA EFTA states’), and separately with Switzerland, to resolve the issues arising with those states from the UK’s exit from the European Union. The Government has been clear that its first priority as part of securing a smooth and orderly exit from the EU was to provide certainty for citizens. As such, we announced in February that we were seeking agreements with these countries, similar to the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
Tucked away in today’s immigration white paper ...
.... an ‘Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill’ is to be published on Thursday 20 December 2018
Here we go: https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/immigrationandsocialsecuritycoordinationeuwithdrawal.html
Tucked away in today’s immigration white paper ...
.... an ‘Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill’ is to be published on Thursday 20 December 2018
Here we go: https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2017-19/immigrationandsocialsecuritycoordinationeuwithdrawal.html
House of Commons Library briefing on the Bill ahead of second reading, currently scheduled for 16 January.
Re today’s ‘meaningful vote’ ....
Speaker picks 4 amendments ... and provides useful summary on the process later:
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/27d512b5-9b1d-43a4-80dd-371b0c5c1a5e?in=12:56:54
Plus see this from the Guardian live blog
Permission has been granted for judicial review of the immigration exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018 -
Data laws could harm EU citizens’ attempts to stay in UK, court told from the Guardian
and from Leigh Day who are acting for the claimants -
‘The immigration exemption affects the three million EU citizens who will have to submit their applications for a new immigration status after Brexit. It affects anyone who has dealings with the Home Office, some other state bodies and several companies who are concerned with “immigration control” such as those seeking refuge in the UK and those impacted by the Windrush scandal.’
Locations where you can go to get your biometric ID document scanned if you do not have an Android device with near field communication (NFC) and you want to apply for settled status.
EU Settlement Scheme: ID document scanner locations
What a complete palaver.
From the Hansard Society -
75% of the time available to lay Brexit SIs before exit day has now elapsed; but just 54% of the minimum number of SIs the government says are needed for Brexit have been laid before Parliament.
Theresa May says that the £65 fee to apply for settled status is to be scrapped.
House of Commons Library briefing on the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2017/18 ahead of the second reading debate today.
[ Edited: 28 Jan 2019 at 10:56 am by Daphne ]Between 50,000 and 250,000 British expats currently living in the European Union may return to the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, potentially putting significant pressure on already-stretched public services, according to government assessments shared with BuzzFeed News.
An internal memo circulated around Whitehall departments revealed that officials are preparing for a sudden rush of citizens to return home if Britain crashes out of the EU without a negotiated settlement, including many pensioners who had retired to the continent.
Under the “worst case scenario” envisaged in the cross-Whitehall contingency planning document, about 150,000 people would return in the first year after the UK leaves the EU on March 29 – with around 30,000 coming back in the first three months.
Another 100,000 would follow in the next wave of the “Brexodus” the following year, according to the estimate.
A Government Memo Says A No-Deal “Brexodus” Could See 250,000 Expats Returning To The UK
Institute for Government says today that -
It looks increasingly unlikely that the prime minister will be able to get the six outstanding Brexit bills through parliament in time. Some of the major bills still have not started their Lords stages – where the government does not control time. Any piece of legislation can become a target for people wanting to frustrate the government’s intentions.
The government is also behind on secondary legislation. Despite a major push from government departments, only around 100 of the 600 statutory instruments required for a no deal Brexit have made their way through parliament. Almost half are yet to be tabled
Legislation can theoretically be rushed through parliament, but that would bypass important scrutiny and, most importantly, require a stable majority – something the government cannot currently bank on. That means there is a very significant risk that the laws that need to be in place for a no deal Brexit will not be on the statute book.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/brexit-two-months-go
Further to our news story yesterday ...
Amendments to social security legislation in preparation for UK’s exit from the European Union ...
... remembered that there are more regs, currently in draft:
- Social Security Coordination (Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Council Regulation (EC) No 859/2003) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- Social Security Coordination (Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, EEA Agreement and Swiss Agreement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- Social Security Coordination (Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- Social Security Coordination (Regulation (EC) No 987/2009) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Further to the written statement in December 2018 re the ‘EEA EFTA states’ (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) ... here’s another one made by the Brexit Secretary today:
The UK has concluded discussions with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (the ‘EEA EFTA states’), on an EEA EFTA citizens’ rights agreement that would protect the rights of UK nationals already living in the EEA EFTA states and EEA EFTA nationals already living in the UK in the event of a no deal scenario ....
New House of Commons library briefing on What if there’s no Brexit deal?.
Section 9 looks at social security, pensions, and workers’ rights…