Haringey Council has committed to cover the costs of EU staff’s settled status applications after Brexit, as part of a package of support being announced for residents and workers from other EU countries.
The council has earmarked £20,000 to help pay for approximately 250 staff applications, which cost £65 each.
The council will hold a public meeting on February 18, offering advice and support to residents and businesses across the borough who will be affected by Brexit.
The EU flag is also flying at Haringey Civic Centre today (Monday) to show support.
The meeting, organised by the council and the borough’s voluntary and community partners, will be attended by council leader Cllr Joseph Ejiofor and the council’s EU Citizen’s Ambassador Cllr Adam Jogee.
It will be a chance for residents and businesses to discuss their concerns and find out what support is available.
Cllr Ejiofor said: “Haringey is a diverse, multicultural, vibrant borough, where people of all cultures are proud to live.
“Unfortunately, as the clock continues to tick down there remains huge uncertainty surrounding Brexit and – whatever happens now – we want our EU residents and staff to know that we will support them in every way that we can, through Brexit and beyond. We value the contribution our EU residents make to this borough and we will make every effort to ensure that they feel welcome in Haringey.”
Zina Etheridge, Chief Executive of Haringey Council, said: “We highly value the contribution that our EU staff make to the council and we know that many will naturally be worried about what Brexit will mean for them and their families, which is why we want to do everything we can to support them.
“Alongside offering ongoing support and advice, we have committed to paying the costs of settled status applications for all of our staff from other EU countries, and we will continue to do anything else we can to ensure they face as little disruption as possible.”
Around 42,000 people in Haringey are from other EU countries (almost 1 in 6) and the council continues to work with a number of regional and national partners and our business partners, in order to ensure Haringey’s voice is heard, and the rights of our residents are protected.
For advice and more information on the impact of Brexit on Haringey, visit: www.haringey.gov.uk/brexit
The UK is due to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019
The Centre for European Reform estimates that as of June 2018, the UK’s public finances were £23billion a year worse off than they would have been without the possibility of Brexit
There is a likely negative impact of Brexit on public sector recruitment
An estimated 42,000 Haringey residents are nationals of another EU member state. This represents almost a sixth of the borough’s population
Haringey voted 75.6% to 24.4% to remain in the 2016 referendum, which was the fifth highest Remain vote in the country
Since the Brexit vote there has been a rise in hate crime of 41% reported by the police
