Sadiq Khan has provided £30,000 of mayoral funds to six community organisations supporting non-UK European Union citizens who wish to continue living in the capital after Brexit.
Applications for “settled status” or “pre-settled status” by non-UK EU citizens and their families who wish to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021 must be made under the government’s EU settlement scheme, which will become fully open by 30 March, regardless of the ongoing parliamentary wrangles over Brexit.
Mayor Khan says these “micro grants” of around £5,000 each will help ensure that “good quality advice and support” is available to more EU Londoners, “particularly those who are vulnerable”, including disabled people and rough sleepers. The money follows the Mayor’s allocation last year of £20,000 to nine different groups, which have since staged events, provided information services and arranged legal advice with the aim of helping EU Londoners through the Home Office process.
The six organisations benefit from the latest funding round are:
- Latin American Women’s Rights Service, which will put on workshops and community events in Islington, Southwark and Haringey and conduct outreach work in Lewisham, Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets.
- New Europeans, which provides “legal surgery events” for Somali communities, older Italian and Roma communities in nine boroughs across the capital.
- Work Rights Centre, which runs weekly Q&A sessions for Eastern Europeans throughout London.
- Migrant Resource Centre, a training organisation for volunteers and staff helping all EU Londoners in various boroughs including Brent, Camden and Waltham Forest.
- Refugees in Active and Effective Partnership, a body that assists EU refugees, primarily in Hillingdon, Harrow, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
- Bulgarian Centre for Social Integration and Culture, which organises advice sessions and events for Bulgarian and Roma communities in Edmonton and Enfield.
City Hall describes the funding awards as part of the Mayor’s London is Open campaign, which was launched in 2016 after the outcome of the EU referendum to demonstrate his commitment to the capital continuing to be a welcoming, international city. The campaign has also included the creation of an online EU Londoners Hub providing information and advice about post-Brexit rights, which the Mayor says has already been signed up to by 19,000 people.