UK urged not to stop benefits to EU citizens

Halting benefit payments to European citizens living in the UK who have not yet applied for settled status is “unnecessary” and could force some into homelessness, the Work and Pensions Secretary has been told.

Jenny Gilruth, Europe Minister with the Scottish Government, raised her concerns about the move in a letter to Therese Coffey.

After the UK left the European Union, EU nationals were given until June 30 to apply for settled status – with this intended to give them the right to live, work and study in Britain, as well as use the NHS and receive any benefits they might be eligible for.

Gilruth said that, after the deadline for applying to the EU Settlement Scheme had passed, the Department for Work and Pensions continued to make social security payments to EU citizens who had not done so.

But, in a letter to the Work and Pensions Secretary, she said she understood that the UK Government would be “suspending these payments at the end of September and discontinue them completely from the end of October”.

The UK Government said: “We continue to use every possible channel to encourage those who are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.”