As members of the Children and Brexit coalition, we are concerned about the implications of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) for EU or EAA children who are or have been in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS).
There is a worrying lack of clarity in current Government policy about how these vulnerable children can apply for the EUSS, how a child’s offending behaviour could affect whether they are granted status under the scheme and, crucially whether they can even apply from within custody.
The Home Affairs Committee recently warned that the EUSS poses a risk to children who may not be able to satisfy the eligibility criteria, heightening the likelihood of another Windrush scandal.
On the 3rd September, MPs held a Westminster Hall debate on the EUSS and looked after children. As looked after children are starkly over-represented in the CJS, we drafted this briefing on behalf of the Children and Brexit coalition and several other criminal justice organisations.
Several MPs raised the concerns in outlined in our briefing but the Immigration Minister failed to answer them sufficiently. We are therefore following up with officials in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department for Education, having written them a joint letter with the Children and Brexit coalition in July but received no reply. We have also been working with a journalist at the Independent to get answers from officals, read the article.
Download the joint Westminster hall briefing on the EUSS and children in the criminal justice system.