ILPA Briefing for House of Lords’ Committee stage of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill: free movement and related matters, ,26 February 2017
Contains explanation of each amendment, with comments and a briefing on relevant matters.
This briefing considers all amendments pertaining to EEA nationals and third country family members on the order paper as of 23 February 2017. We first set out our understanding of how each amendment works, and make a brief comment on it. We then (at page 9ff) provide a briefing on the issues raised by the amendments. It covers:
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Persons under consideration (Amendments 7, 8, 19, 25, 26, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42)
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Current rights (Amendments 7, 8, 19, 25, 26, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42)
Comprehensive sickness insurance (Amendment 7)
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Cut off dates and cohorts (Amendments 7, 8, 19, 25, 26, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42)
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Practicalities (Amendment 7)
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Sources of rights (all)
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British citizens in other EEA States and in Switzerland (Amendments 7, 26, 38, 40)
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Devolution (Amendments 8 and 20)
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Trafficked Persons (Amendment 33)
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Health service and the UK’s need for EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members (Amendment 42)
The amendments we address are
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Amendment 7 to Clause 1, page 1, line 3, in the names of Lord Oates, Baroness Kennedy Of The Shaws, Lord Cromwell;
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Amendment 8 to Clause 1, page 1, line 3, in the names of Lord Warner and Lord Oates;
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Amendment 19, after Clause 1, New Clause EU and EEA nationals resident in the United Kingdom in the names of Baroness Hayter Of Kentish Town, Lord Hannay Of Chiswick, Lord Bowness and Baroness Ludford;
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Amendment 25, after Clause 1, New Clause Rights of EU citizens resident in the United Kingdom in the names of Baroness Hamwee, Lord Woolf, Baroness Lawrence Of Clarendon, Lord Kerslake;
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Amendment 26, after Clause 1, New Clause Effect of notification of withdrawal: EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU in the names of Lord Newby, Baroness Ludford, Lord Paddick and Lord Oates;
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Amendment 33, after Clause 1 New clause Women’s rights and equalityin the name of Baroness Drake;
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Amendment 37, after Clause 1 ,New Clause “EU Nationals in the United Kingdom in the name of Lord Wigley;
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Amendment 38, after Clause 1, New Clause United Kingdom citizens in the EEA and EEA citizens in the UK in the names of Lord Oates, Baroness Kennedy Of The Shaws, Baroness Janke;
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Amendment 40, after Clause 1, New Clause United Kingdom citizens in the European Union and EU citizens in the UK in the name of Lord Green of Deddington;
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Amendment 41, after Clause 1, New Clause Rights of EU and EEA citizens resident in the UK in the names of Baroness Ludford and Baroness Hamwee;
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Amendment 42, after Clause 1, EU and EEA nationals working in the National Health Service in the name of Lord Clark of Windemere.
House of Lords Amendment of 1 March 2017 to continue rights of EU & EEA citizens resident in UK
Text of amendment:
“( ) Within three months of exercising the power under section 1(1), Ministers of the Crown must bring forward proposals to ensure that citizens of another European Union or European Economic Area country and their family members, who are legally resident in the United Kingdom on the day on which this Act is passed, continue to be treated in the same way with regards to their EU derived-rights and, in the case of residency, their potential to acquire such rights in the future.”
The strengths of the amendment are that it appears to cover a range of EU rights, those from the Treaty as well as from Directive 2004/38/EC (understanding ‘EU derived’ to mean ‘derived from EU law’). It covers EEA not just EU nationals. It also includes family members
The weaknesses of the amendment are that it omits the Swiss; that it commits the Government only to ‘proposals’ and, most grave, the early cut off date (those resident on the day the Act is passed).
- Document Date
- 2017-02-26
- Issue Number
- 17.02.33026