Turmoil as EU Citizens Offered Money to Voluntarily Leave UK Post-Brexit
Toby Melville
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Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/uk/202101271081896737-turmoil-as-eu-citizens-offered-money-to-voluntarily-leave-uk-post-brexit/
Campaigners for living conditions for EU migrants in the UK have deemed the initiative as controversial, saying the financial incentives are in direct contradiction with the government’s assurances that they are set to help vulnerable EU nationals on British soil.
EU citizens living in the UK appear to be eligible for financial aid to return to their native countries under a special longstanding scheme that previously encouraged immigrants from other parts of the world to do the same, The Guardian reported, adding, though, that the scheme has caused mixed feelings with many.
Thousands of EU workers in British care homes risk falling foul of the legal requirement for them to register their status in the UK before a government deadline expires on 30 June, according to a new report published on Monday (25 January).
1 in 3 care workers have not heard of the UK Government’s EU Settled Status Scheme and 1 in 2 do not know about the deadline, according to a survey of over 290 workers in UK care homes.
“We are still in the middle of a pandemic, while the EUSS deadline for EU citizens is less than six months away,” said Caitlin Boswell, author of the report for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
Benjamin Morgan, who runs the EU homeless rights project at the Public Interest Law Centre, said: “It is clear from our casework that some of the most vulnerable EU citizens are yet to resolve their status. Barriers to application and delays in Home Office decision-making remain significant factors.
“This mixed messaging around settled status on the one hand and voluntary returns on the other, seriously undermines the government’s claim that the rights of vulnerable Europeans will be protected after Brexit.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Some people may choose not to obtain status under EUSS and may not wish to remain in the UK after the deadline. That is why we have written to stakeholders to inform them that EEA nationals who wish to leave the UK may now be eligible for support to help them do so under the voluntary returns scheme.”
Was 2020 a watershed for public sector use of algorithms?
Last year saw public protests about the use of predictive analytics in decision making. As the technology becomes more widely used in many public services, Sam Trendall asks experts about the implications for government, the law – and the citizens affected
A protest about the use o algorithms in exam results. Photo: PA
If government did not know it has an algorithm problem, it certainly does now.
“There is a clear, and understandable, nervousness about the use and consequences of algorithms, exacerbated by the events of this summer,” said the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation in a major report published in late November.