Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Government confuses itself over EU nationals
Given the number of hoops that EU nationals are now required to jump through to stay in the UK, I suppose it is unsurprising that even the government is struggling to understand its own regulations. That at least, is how I read the latest cock-up from Boris central.
As the Independent reports, a Home Office campaign informing EU nationals how to confirm their UK status after Brexit has been banned by the advertising watchdog for being “misleading”:
In April, a radio advert for the EU settlement scheme was aired stating that all applicants would need was their passport or ID card and to complete an online form.
But in a damning verdict, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said this was “misleading” because many applicants had been required to submit other documents that were not named in the advert.
The watchdog said the advertisement breached regulations and must not be broadcast again in that form.
This is not the first time the Home Office has sought to over-simplify issues that it has made far more complex than they need to be. But Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Christine Jardine is right as well when she says:
“It’s appalling the way EU citizens have been treated by the Tories since the referendum. We’ve already heard far too many cases of people not receiving the settled status they are entitled to. The Home Office putting out misleading adverts about how to apply only makes it worse.”
Can anybody really say, hand on heart, that the Home Office is fit for purpose?
As the Independent reports, a Home Office campaign informing EU nationals how to confirm their UK status after Brexit has been banned by the advertising watchdog for being “misleading”:
In April, a radio advert for the EU settlement scheme was aired stating that all applicants would need was their passport or ID card and to complete an online form.
But in a damning verdict, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said this was “misleading” because many applicants had been required to submit other documents that were not named in the advert.
The watchdog said the advertisement breached regulations and must not be broadcast again in that form.
This is not the first time the Home Office has sought to over-simplify issues that it has made far more complex than they need to be. But Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Christine Jardine is right as well when she says:
“It’s appalling the way EU citizens have been treated by the Tories since the referendum. We’ve already heard far too many cases of people not receiving the settled status they are entitled to. The Home Office putting out misleading adverts about how to apply only makes it worse.”
Can anybody really say, hand on heart, that the Home Office is fit for purpose?
