EU settlement scheme: Charity helping children in care apply to stay in UK forced to stop taking cases

Vulnerable children and young people are missing out on assistance they need to register, writes May Bulman

Home Office funding for this provision is set to end in weeks (Getty)

A charity tasked with helping EU national children in care apply for post-Brexit immigration status has been forced to stop taking on new cases because Home Office funding that was granted for this purpose is set to end in weeks.

Vulnerable children and young people may be missing out on support they need to register for EU settlement – which they must do in order to retain immigration rights – because Coram, one of the major charities providing this help, has had to stop accepting new referrals due to failure by the department to guarantee any funding beyond March 2020.

However, the support has only been guaranteed until the end of the financial year and the Home Office has announced no plans for any extension, which campaigners say risks leaving a “gap” in provision.