Charlotte O’Brien and Alice Welsh, “The UK’s unlawful definition of ‘comprehensive sickness insurance’: Case C‑247/20 VI v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.”

September 2022

A memo for the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, highlighting the continuing issues and delay with the Governments implementation of the Case C‑247/20 VI judgment which confirmed that access to NHS healthcare should be enough to discharge the requirement for comprehensive sickness insurance for those with a right of residence as a self-sufficient person or student.

The UK’s unlawful definition of ‘comprehensive sickness insurance’: Case C‑247/20 VI v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.pdf

Charlotte O’Brien and Alice Welsh, “Inaccurate DWP guidance on pre-settled status, benefits and the Charter of Fundamental Rights: C-709/20 CG v the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland”

10th May 2022

A new memo highlighting an error with the DWP guidance. The guidance fails provide guidance on the duty of Universal Credit decision makers to assess whether a refusal of the benefit would risk violating fundamental rights under the EU Charter.

Inaccurate DWP guidance on pre-settled status, benefits and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.doc

Mariña Fernández-Reino and Madeleine Sumption, ‘How Secure is Pre-Settled Status for EU Citizens After Brexit?’

29th March 2022

A new report from Hub staff at the Migration Observatory has been released looking at pre-settled status and the potential risks faced by EU citizens who will have to upgrade this status in the future. It draws on statistical data and 15 qualitative interviews with practitioners.

How Secure is Pre-Settled Status for EU Citizens After Brexit.html (recommended)

Case note - Fratila v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 53

Alice Welsh, Permission to discriminate – EU nationals, pre-settled status and access to social assistance (2022) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

Reviews the Supreme Court’s disappointing yet not surprising judgment in Fratila v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 53, highlighting (1) the impact on the rights of those with pre-settled status in the UK and (2) future arguments relying on the EU Charter or Withdrawal Agreement.

Madeleine Sumption and Peter William Walsh ‘EU migration to and from the UK’

16 February 2022

A new briefing report from Hub staff at the Migration Observatory has been released looking at EU migration to and from the UK. It examines how many EU migrants are there in the UK and how the migration of EU citizens has changed since Brexit.

EU migration to and from the UK.html (recommended)

EU migration to and from the UK.pdf

Case note - C-709/20 CG v The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland

Charlotte O'Brien, The great EU citizenship illusion exposed: equal treatment rights evaporate for the vulnerable (CG v The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland) (2021), 46(6), E.L. Rev. 801-817.

Reviews the restrictive approach of CG v Department for Communities in Northern Ireland (C-709/20) (ECJ) to the rights of EU nationals in the UK, involving a disapplication of TFEU art.18, and a refusal of equal treatment rights to those without work, irrespective of pre-existing rights to reside.

Case note - C-710/19 G. M. A. v État belge

Alice Welsh, A genuine chance of free movement? Clarifying the “reasonable period of time” and residence conditions for jobseekers in G.M.A. (2021), 58(5), CML Rev 1591-1612.

Reviews the CJEU’s approach to jobseeker’s right of residence and their interpretation of what a ‘reasonable period of time’ is for jobseekers to seek employment in a Member State and how a ‘genuine chance of being engaged’ should be measured.

“The EU Rights and Brexit Hub Annual Report 2020-21”

July 2021

The the first EU Rights and Brexit Hub Annual Report covering 2020-21. This report covers the activities and updates of all 3 spokes of the Hub; the legal action research clinic, public policy and engagement work and the quantitative data analysis.

EU Rights and Brexit Hub written Evidence to House of Lords European Affairs Committee

28 June 2021

This written evidence covers some key concerns the rights of EU citizens in the UK including issues facing vulnerable EU citizens, pre-settled status and access to welfare, issues with digital only status, the impact of COVID-19 on the experience of the EUSS and post-deadline issues.

Full Report.html

Professor Charlotte O’Brien written Evidence to House of Lords European Affairs Committee

28th June 2021

This memo concerns residence rights of EU citizens resident in the UK before the transition period ended on the 31 December 2020, and who continue to reside in the UK thereafter. It raises concerns with the disparity between two parallel rights regimes : the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme and the Withdrawal Agreement.

Full Report.html

Migration Observatory written Evidence to House of Lords European Affairs Committee

28th June 2021

This evidence was submitted by Hub team members at the Migration Observatory and covers what we do and do not know about how successfully the scheme has served the diverse range of EU citizens and their family members. This highlights particular concerns with the data on the EU Settlement Scheme going forward.

Full Report.html

What now? The EU Settlement Scheme after the Deadline

28th June 2021

This commentary highlights data concerns with the EU Settlement Scheme going forward including:

• The limited data on those still yet to apply for the scheme

• The lack of data on the application rates among vulnerable groups

• The challenges faced by nearly 2 million people who need to apply again to the EUSS to upgrade from pre-settled to settled status

• The difficulty in knowing how many with pre-settled status will fail to upgrade to settled status or decide to leave the UK

Full Commentary.html

Local Authority Delivery of the EU Settlement Scheme

16th June 2021

This report covers the central role of local authorities in rolling out the EUSS. As statutory public bodies, local authorities remain responsible for the delivery of housing, social care and public health. Local authorities are thus key stakeholders in the EUSS process and were tasked by the Home Office with coordinating the local implementation of the scheme.

Full report.pdf

Full report.docx

Journal Article -

Charlotte O’Brien, Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Vulnerable EU citizens cast adrift in the UK post-Brexit (2021), 58(2), CML Rev 431-470.

Abstract

Both the UK Government and the EU negotiating team have let down vast numbers of EU citizens in the UK. The creation of continuing EU responsibilities in a newly ex-Member State, for EU citizens who exercised their EU free movement rights before withdrawal, is an unprecedented challenge. This piece explores four growing threats to their rights. (1) The conditions laid down in Directive 2004/38 loom large in the Withdrawal Agreement, disproportionately disentitling women and children from a right to stay in their homes. (2) The Withdrawal Agreement contains a dramatic departure from standard practice in EU law, allowing the UK and Member States to make registration constitutive, not declaratory, of the right to stay. It will transform thousands into unauthorized migrants overnight. (3) The UK’s new EU Settled Status is fraught with risks of administrative injustice, which affect the vulnerable most. (4) The UK’s attempt to separate welfare rights from “pre-settled status” forces wide-reaching questions about the clout of Article 18 TFEU. In short, vulnerable EU citizens emerge in this process not so much as bargaining chips but as collateral damage, with the UK government displaying a considerable appetite for, and the EU tolerating, a real risk of large-scale disentitlement.

Unsettled Status – 2020: Which EU Citizens are at Risk of Failing to Secure their Rights after Brexit?

24th September 2020

This report highlights 4 groups at risk of falling through the gaps:

• Those who may not be aware that the scheme exists and/or, even if they are aware, that they can and need to apply;

• Those who will struggle to navigate an application due to difficulties accessing or using the application;

• Those who may lack evidence proving their eligibility;

• Those who might fail to convert from pre-settled to settled status.

Full report.html