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<p>Since the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) opened in March 2019, the Home Office has
undertaken a broad range of communications and stakeholder engagement activity to
encourage EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members to apply for and obtain
status. This has included targeted stakeholder engagement with hard to reach and vulnerable
groups, including collaborative work with local authorities, and a comprehensive,
£7.9 million advertising campaign.</p><p>We are committed to making sure everybody
eligible for the EUSS can apply, including those who are vulnerable or need extra
support. We have awarded £22 million of funding to a network of now 72 charities and
community organisations across the UK, to ensure important information and assistance
gets through to those who are hardest to reach and no one is left behind. These organisations
have helped more than 250,000 vulnerable people to apply to the EUSS already, including
elderly people living in local authority and private care homes and those suffering
from dementia.</p><p>In England, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
is continuing to engage with social care departments across the country. They are
delivering engagement webinars to key stakeholders such as the Principal Social Workers
and the Care Provider Alliance to provide information and are signposting the support
available through the grant-funded network.</p><p>In Scotland, Citizen’s Advice Scotland
are working with care providers in the Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling local
authority areas.</p><p>In Northern Ireland, Advice NI and Step are funded to provide
support to the care sector.</p><p>In Wales, support is provided by both Newport Mind
and TGP Cymru.</p><p>In relation to children in care and care leavers, the Home Office
continues to engage extensively with relevant stakeholders, such as the Department
for Education, local authorities and local government associations in England, Wales
and Scotland, Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland and the Association
of Directors of Children’s Services, to ensure staff and applicants are supported
and informed throughout the application process.</p><p>The Home Office also holds
a programme of teleconferences for local authority staff working with children in
care, which provide a forum to exchange information, ask questions and raise issues.</p>
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