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<p>The Home Office has not received direct representations seeking nationality advice
for looked after children from local authorities. The difficulties that local authorities
may encounter when identifying eligible looked after children and care leavers has
been raised.</p><p>During engagement sessions, with the Home Office EU Settlement
Scheme Safeguarding User Group, as early as May 2018, stakeholders, representing looked
after children and care leavers, highlighted that local authorities do not routinely
record nationality of children. To help local authorities prepare for the launch of
the EU Settlement Scheme, the Home Office made several recommendations. Identifying
the eligible cohort of children and care leavers was one of the recommendations, along
with identifying resource to manage this work stream. The Home Office has also produced
an information pack to assist local authorities with responsibilities for looked after
children. The pack details the need to obtain identity documents, a process which
local authorities are familiar with as it is required for other circumstances.</p><p>The
Home Office has no plan to publish the new burdens assessment in relation to looked
after children and the EUSS.</p><p>The Home Office is committed to continuing to engage
with local authorities as they undertake their responsibilities to ensure that all
eligible looked after children and care leavers are supported to make an application
to the EUSS. The Home Office will ensure that caseworkers liaise with and support
applicants to get the status they require. The Home Office is directly engaging with
local authorities, social workers, and those making applications on behalf of looked
after children and care leavers to provide support and information.</p><p>If an applicant
indicates that they expect to be granted settled status but the evidence for that
status is incomplete, the Home Office will make multiple attempts to contact the applicant
and help them to provide the evidence required.</p><p>The Home Office is monitoring
applications in relation to children in care and care leavers both via engagement
with local authorities and by tracking applications received.</p>
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