Meeting of the Parliament 19 December 2018
As Tom Arthur will hear in my speech, I recognise the value of freedom of movement. I was hoping that today’s debate would be consensual. We will also respond to the white paper on the UK’s future skills-based immigration system that has been published today.
Last week, I was at the launch of the forthcoming report on Brexit and EU citizens living in Scotland. The report focuses on their experiences, concerns and support needs since the EU referendum. I am co-convener of the cross-party group on Poland, at which we discussed the early stages of the research earlier this year. The final report of the EU citizens’ rights project Scotland, which has support from the Scottish Government, is due to be published soon. It is a detailed piece of work that draws on conversations held with EU citizens living throughout Scotland after the EU referendum. My amendment acknowledges that work.
People reported feeling stressed by the lack of reliable and sufficiently detailed information on the EU settlement scheme, and reported lack of awareness of how to apply for settled status, particularly among vulnerable groups—perhaps people who are isolated and/or have a poor knowledge of English. Challenges including completion of applications for people who have little understanding of English, low computer skills and limited access, and lack of ability to pay the application fee were also identified. The minister’s announcement yesterday, which addressed some of those concerns, along with those of Citizen’s Advice, was welcome.
The decision to leave the EU will remove the existing rights of EU citizens who live in Scotland, many of whom have lived here for a number of years. They have children at school, they have jobs and they run businesses. They are on community councils and they have been elected to local councils. Their connections to this country run deep. Through no decision of their own, their status is changing: surely we want them to stay and continue to contribute to our society. Making them pay to retain their rights is unjustifiable. The fee is significant when a family needs to apply, and it is difficult to meet the cost from a minimum-wage salary or when one is on a zero-hours contract.
Professor Alan Manning, who is the chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, gave evidence to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee recently. Members were astonished by his analysis of the Scottish economy. I support his expressed desire for a high-skill and high-wage economy, but I cannot support his analysis that the result of free movement of EU citizens is that their jobs are unskilled and are therefore redundant to our economy. We do not know where the Brexit negotiations will end up or what the outcome will be, but under the white paper that has been published today, we will have a very different immigration policy. Unless we see a policy that recognises the needs of the different parts of the UK, there will be greater and greater calls for flexibility.
Scotland will face significant demographic challenges in the coming years: our population is ageing and our birth rate is not meeting predicted demands from our economy and our society. We face skills shortages in specific areas. At the moment, we have EU citizens working in many sectors across Scotland. They are working in education and in our health service, and they are creating businesses and providing employment. As citizens of the European Union, they are free to do that, so the UK will feel like an extension of their home countries.
That is all about to change, so we must redouble our efforts to make migrants feel welcome in Scotland. We must make it clear that they are a valuable part of our society and that we recognise and value the contribution that they make, and we must be clear that they are welcome to settle here. They are not welcome just in order to meet an economic need and then be required to go when that need has been fulfilled, but to live here, to raise a family here and to be part of our community. Their contribution is valued and we want it to continue.
I move amendment S5M-15184.1, to insert after “freedom of movement;”:
“commends the work of organisations such as EU Citizens Rights Project, in partnership with stakeholders, to address the needs and concerns of EU citizens, ensuring that their voice is heard throughout the negotiation period;”.
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