News
07.05.2021 - The UK-India migration deal: details
The UK and India signed a non-binding agreement on migration this week. The basic ingredients are to beef up cooperation on removing unauthorised migrants in exchange for a minor liberalisation on youth mobility-type visas and some warm words on encouraging temporary migration more generally. Such a deal has been on the cards for years and a text was reportedly ready for signature in 2018, but was dropped in light of the Windrush scandal which made removals politically unappealing for a time.
The Young Professionals Scheme
The element of the deal most likely to result in substantive change to ...
06.05.2021 - UK economy set to grow at fastest rate in more than 70 years
The UK economy will enjoy its fastest growth in more than 70 years in 2021 as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, according to the Bank of England.
The economy is expected to expand by 7.25% this year, with extra government spending helping to limit job losses.
However, it follows a contraction of 9.9% in 2020, the biggest in 300 years.
Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said the recovery was "strong" but likened it to "more of a bounce back" than a boom.
He added that the surge in growth, while "good news", would only return the UK economy back to its 2019 size.
Mr Bailey told ...
06.05.2021 - Court throws out challenge to digital-only status for EU citizens
The High Court has issued a judgment refusing permission for a judicial review challenge to the government’s policy of giving digital-only proof of immigration status to millions of EU citizens. The case is R (The 3million Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1159 (Admin).
People granted pre-settled or settled status are not being issued with physical residence permits. Instead, their status exists in the ether. People can pull their individual proof of status out of a Home Office database using a “view and prove” service on gov.uk.
The claimants, a campaign group repr...
06.05.2021 - Judges can decide after the hearing whether an out-of-country appeal is fair
Juba (s. 94B: access to lawyers) [2021] UKUT 95 (IAC) is the latest judgment dealing with the “deport first appeal later” policy, following on from the famous Kiarie and Byndloss case. In Juba, the Upper Tribunal has found that it was acceptable for the First-Tier Tribunal to hear an appeal brought from abroad after deportation, and to only then decide whether the appellant had been deprived of the ability to secure legal representation, and/or to give instructions and receive advice.
The Upper Tribunal also reiterated how and why it matters that a deportee arrived in the UK as a child. In sum...
06.05.2021 - UK service sector growth hits seven-year high
The UK's services sector rebounded in April with growth climbing to a seven-year high as lockdown restrictions were eased, according to an influential survey.
The sector, which accounts for 80% of the UK economy, had the fastest rise in output since October 2013.
The purchasing managers' index from IHS Markit/CIPS climbed to 61 for April, up from 56.3 in March.
Any figure above 50 shows growth in the sector.
"April data illustrates that a surge of pent-up demand has started to flow through the UK economy, following the loosening of pandemic restrictions, which lifted private sector growth to i...
05.05.2021 - UK and India agree to let more young people in
The UK and India have struck a deal allowing thousands of young adults to work and live in each other's countries for two years. The Home Office said the scheme for 18 to 30-year-old professionals would allow "the brightest and best" to come to the UK based on "skills and talent".
It added that the two countries would also "crack down" on illegal migration. The new scheme comes as the UK is pushing for a post-Brexit free-trade deal with India.
The two countries earlier announced business agreements worth £1bn.
The Young Professionals Scheme will be open to a maximum of 3,000 people from each o...
04.05.2021 - Marriage certificate to include mothers' names in England and Wales
Mothers of brides and grooms in England and Wales will now be added to marriage certificates for the first time.
Until now, the document only included the names of the fathers of the couple, but a change to the Marriage Act means both parents will be included.
The Home Office said the move would "correct a historic anomaly".
Marriages will also be recorded electronically, rather than written in a registry book, as part of the biggest changes to the system since 1837.
The government said the creation of a single electronic register, which goes live on Tuesday, would speed up the process and rem...
04.05.2021 - Record mortgage borrowing as owners move or improve
UK homeowners borrowed a record £11.8bn more on mortgages than they repaid in March, according to figures from the Bank of England.
This net borrowing level was the highest of any month since comparable data began in 1993.
The market was stoked up by stamp duty holidays and by low mortgage rates.
These factors encouraged some homeowners to move in time to beat the tax relief deadline or to borrow more to improve their current property.
Mortgage borrowing signals future demand to buy homes, and analysts have said that the UK housing market has been "on the boil" during the spring.
On Friday, th...
03.05.2021 - Fresh blow to “no recourse to public funds” scheme
Rules restricting migrants’ access to benefits are back in the spotlight following a new High Court decision, which found that aspects of the “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) scheme fail to protect the rights of children.
The case of ST (a child, by his Litigation Friend VW) & VW v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1085 (Admin) focused specifically on the approach to NRPF in Appendix FM. This is the section of the Immigration Rules applicable to the family members of British citizens and those with long-term residence rights.
The latest challenge
The claimants in this...
03.05.2021 - People in problem debt get 60-day break scheme
A new "breathing space" scheme has begun in England and Wales to shield people in problem debt from further interest and charges.
People receiving debt advice can apply for the break, which lasts for up to 60 days, to prevent them falling into a spiral of debt.
The Treasury has estimated that up to 700,000 people could be helped by the scheme in its first year.
People receiving treatment for mental health issues can get more help.
The separate system for those receiving mental health crisis treatment lasts for the length of that treatment, plus another 30 days.
Debt charities have campaigned f...
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