New Inquiry to examine how Government can protect rights of EU citizens in UK

A call for evidence was issued on the 16 August 2016 by a new Inquiry, chaired by Gisela Stuart MP, former Chair of the Vote Leave campaign, examining the practicalities of how the UK Government can protect the rights of the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit.

The Inquiry will meet in September and October 2016 and had cross-party, business and trade union support. The full Inquiry panel comprises: Gisela Stuart MP (Chair); Suella Fernandes MP; Suzanne Evans of UKIP; Kate Green MP; Fraser Nelson, Editor of the Spectator; Seamus Nevin of the Institute of Directors; Owen Tudor, TUC; Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex; and Sunder Katwala, British Future.

It would report in autumn/winter 2016, setting out recommendations about how to resolve the status of EU nationals living in the UK.

ICM research for British Future finds that 84% of the British public supported letting EU migrants stay – including three-quarters (77%) of Leave voters – with any future changes to freedom of movement applying only to new migrants. The Government has stated that it anticipated that this would happen, though the delay in doing so was causing unnecessary anxiety for EU migrants and uncertainty for businesses that relied on their labour.

The Inquiry would start from the principled position that letting EU citizens stay in the UK was the right thing to do. Its aim would be to examine how to make this work in practice, and to make practical recommendations to the Government. Questions that it might consider could include:

+ The kind of legal status that EU citizens are granted, and whether that will apply to all EU citizens in the UK;
+ Managing cut-off dates for changes to the status of EU citizens in the UK;
+ Will there be an increase in migration to the UK ahead of the cut-off date and how can it be managed?
+ Healthcare and welfare rights;
+ How should EU citizens be required to prove their residency in the UK?

BBC News 16.08.16: EU citizens 'left in limbo', says Vote Leave MP Gisela Stuart http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37091464

British Future: Tag: Brexit http://www.britishfuture.org/tag/brexit/

British Future: Tag: EU Migrants http://www.britishfuture.org/tag/eu-migrants/

United Kingdom: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee, July 2016: Absence of certainty on Brexit migration issues, says Committee http://www.europeansources.info/record/absence-of-certainty-on-brexit-migration-issues-says-committee/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Background information: How do EU people in the UK feel about Brexit? [The EU Referendum, 23 June 2016. The United Kingdom and the European Union. The results. Reaction of EU Citizens in the UK] http://www.europeansources.info/record/how-do-eu-people-in-the-uk-feel-about-brexit-the-eu-referendum-23-june-2016-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union-the-results-reaction-of-eu-citizens-in-the-uk/

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