Key Facts

• Financial privilege is engaged by Lords amendments 4 and 5.
• The Bill aims to end EU rules on free movement and implement a points-based immigration system.
• Skills for Care and the Migration Advisory Committee provide independent reporting on migration issues.
• Lords amendment 2 seeks to provide lifetime rights for British citizens resident in EEA or Switzerland before the transition period to return to the UK accompanied by non-British close family members under EU free movement law terms.
• The government provides extensive support to local authorities, including a grant funding of up to £17 million for organisations across the UK to assist vulnerable groups in applying to the scheme.
• Since 2010, more than 44,000 children seeking protection have been granted leave through the asylum system and resettlement schemes.
• The government is considering reforming the detention system for quicker decisions.
• No European country has adopted a time limit as short as 28 days proposed by amendments.
• Last year, the Government paid £7 million to 272 people who were wrongfully detained.
• Lords amendment 1 would require an independent assessment of the impact on social care sector from ending free movement.
• Unison supports workers throughout the pandemic with its 'care after covid' campaign.
• Amendment 4 aims to ensure safe refugee family reunion routes post-Dublin III.
• The Dublin III regulation allows legal pathways for children seeking asylum in the UK.
• Lords amendment 6 would limit detention periods to 28 days and mandate judicial scrutiny.
• There are estimated 5,000 looked-after children and 4,000 care leavers needing settled status applications.
• Amendment 2 guarantees the right of UK citizens returning from EU with close family without financial restrictions.
• Amendment 5 provides physical proof of status for EEA and Swiss citizens registered through the EU settlement scheme.
• Lords amendment 5 is being urged not to be adopted.
• Lords amendment 9 provides at least 12 months' leave to remain and access to benefits for confirmed victims of human trafficking from EEA or Swiss national backgrounds.
• Victims of modern slavery will face an undefined legal vacuum after the UK-EU transition period ends on December 31.
• The Centre for Social Justice published a document that pushed the Government into passing modern-day slavery legislation.
• A recent report titled “It still happens here: Fighting UK Slavery in the 2020s” highlights barriers to moving victims on safely due to lack of recourse to public funds.
• Lord McColl’s amendment inserted a paragraph into guidance after its passage, rectifying contradictions.
• Victims of modern slavery receive no leave to remain despite being confirmed as such, whereas refugees get five years' leave to remain.
• The UK has some of the most restrictive family visa rules, splitting up tens of thousands of British citizens from their spouses and children.
• Lords amendment 2 aims to protect families by exempting a fixed and finite cohort from new immigration rules forever.
• Lords amendment 4 seeks to protect unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK's best interests or with family connections here.
• Lords amendment 3 would fast-track access to settled status for children in care and care leavers, reducing future uncertainty.
• Victims of modern slavery should be granted immigration leave without entering detention centres unnecessarily.
• ECPAT published a freedom of information request finding only 28 children confirmed as victims of trafficking granted discretionary leave to remain between 2016 and 2019.
• The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is described as an excellent, groundbreaking and world-leading Act.
• Bishop Desmond Tutu's quote highlights the need for upstream solutions to prevent people from falling into the 'river'.
• The Home Office published its comprehensive improvement plan last month.
• Newham had 91,000 EU settlement scheme applications submitted, the highest number among all local authorities.
• Romanians account for about a third of Newham's total applications under the EU settlement scheme.
• In Romania, only 61% of people were regular internet users and only 28% had basic digital skills by 2018 (compared to EU averages).
• Only 3% of Roma Support Group clients in Newham can complete an online application independently, and only 20% have access to IT devices at home.
• Nicoleta is a single mother who paid someone to help her with the EU settlement scheme application but later faced issues accessing her digital status statement.
• Nicolaie works in construction and faced difficulties providing his EU settlement scheme details for universal credit due to the pandemic.
• The Bill aims to end free movement of persons in UK law.
• The Government will invest £1.5 billion more funding in adult and children’s social care.
• Winterton opposes Lords amendment 1, which requires an independent assessment of the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector within six months.
• She also opposes Lords amendment 2, which would provide preferential family reunion rights under EU free movement law indefinitely.
• The government has not responded to the recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee regarding adding social care to the shortage occupation list.
• There are fewer than 4,000 children in care who may be affected, with only 40% having applied for necessary entitlements.
• Safe Passage warns that 95% of child refugees they have supported through Dublin route would unlikely qualify under new proposed system.
• The UK is the only country in Europe that locks people up indefinitely for immigration purposes.
• £7 million was paid out last year in compensation for wrongful detention cases involving 272 individuals.
• At the end of June, there were 40 people who had been detained for over a year and four for more than two years.
• The Home Office estimated 9,000 EU children in care but recent surveys suggest under 4,000 after local authority assessments.
• The amendment received strong support in the Lords with 317 votes to 223.
• Since 2016, an average of over 500 children per year have been rescued under Dublin III provisions compared to just 11 before its implementation.
• There are currently over 1,600 unaccompanied children on Greek islands, many with chronic illnesses and exposed to exploitation.
• More than 30 local authorities have identified 1,400 places if the government will support these children.
• The Government have engaged financial privilege on amendment 5.
• Amendment 9 seeks to change the terms available to trafficked persons from EEA territories arriving after 31 December.
• Only 8% to 9% of applications for discretionary leave to remain are granted by the Home Office.
• One in five health and social care workers was born outside the UK.
• The Bill introduces a points-based system allowing entry for those earning over £25,600 annually.
• Care workers are described as underpaid despite their essential role during the pandemic.
• The Government argues that digital status cannot be lost or tampered with.
• 22% of people lack essential digital skills in the UK.
• A Residential Landlords Association survey found 20% of landlords are less likely to consider renting to EU nationals due to complications.
• The amendment aims to provide a safety net for children who have missed necessary paperwork deadlines.
• Only 40% of identified looked-after children and care leavers have had applications made on their behalf since the launch of the EU settlement scheme.
• Late application cases will be considered on individual merits with a pragmatic approach by the Home Office.
• Only 5% of social care workers come from EU migration.
• Unemployment is at 10.5% in the MP's constituency.
• The Government has invested £1.5 billion in adult and children’s social care.
• There will be a national recruitment campaign for the social care sector.
• 20,000 people working in the Lake District hospitality industry are from outside the UK.
• The speaker's grandparents were refugees who settled in the UK without EU membership.
• Lords amendment 2 seeks to ensure that UK nationals in the EEA or Switzerland have lifetime rights to bring close family members on EU free movement terms.
• The government aims for an immigration system treating all people fairly based on merit and need.
• The income threshold would exclude 69% of EU nationals currently in the UK.
• There will be a shortage of 122,000 social care workers by 2030.
• Nearly 70% of those detained are eventually released and allowed to stay in the UK.
• Countries like Germany, France, Spain, and Greece see two to four times as many asylum applications compared to the UK.
• The Bill aims to end free movement and establish a new points-based immigration system.
• Lords amendment 2 would allow EU citizens to bypass normal immigration rules for family reunion rights indefinitely, which Winterton opposes as unfair.
• Care workers earn an average salary of £19,104, below the proposed £26,500 threshold and not included in shortage occupation lists.
• Bailey represents Sandwell, where 16,000 people work in social care.
• His constituency voted 70% to leave the EU.
• The government promised £1.5 million for social care improvements.
• The Bill addresses the management and administration of processes rather than operational law.
• Undocumented children in care systems are at risk of future Windrush situations due to retroactive application requirements.
• Local authorities with care responsibilities or family members with special guardianship orders may face difficulties obtaining necessary documentation for young persons' nationality.
• The cost burden for local authorities applying for settled status should be either waived or substantially reduced by the Home Office.
• Refugees and individuals facing digital exclusion need reliable access to documentary evidence of their granted status.
• Changes to guidance on modern slavery will be in place from 1 January.
• Discussions are ongoing with the European Union regarding bilateral arrangements for migration rules.
• The government is moving towards digital status documentation, similar to systems used by countries like Australia.
• The House disagreed with Lords amendments 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
• Lords amendment 2 was also disagreed to.
• The Committee agreed to a Committee being appointed to draw up reasons for disagreeing with the Lords amendments.