THE UK Government will not allow Holyrood ministers to pay £65 settled status fees for European citizens who are working in Scotland's public services, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister has already promised her government would pick up the cost for NHS staff and other public-sector workers who have come to live in Scotland from other parts of the European Union.
But she told the Health and Social Care Scotland conference in Glasgow the "UK Government will not allow third-party payments, thereby forcing EU citizens to pay it upfront".
The Scottish Government will seek to reimburse these people afterwards.
READ MORE: Tory MSP left red-faced as Mike Russell quotes his Unionist blog in Brexit debate
There are around 13,000 citizens from other EU nations currently working in health and social care in Scotland – with this group making up 3.5% of the sector's overall workforce.
In social care alone, some 7.3% of all registered nurses and 5.5% of all staff come from other European nations.
Sturgeon said the "hostile environment" the UK Government has created for migrants has already resulted in a drop of nurses from Europe applying to work in Scotland.
She challenged politicians in Westminster to ditch the "unacceptable" settled status fee and instead "value the doctors, nurses and carers working day in, day out to provide care in our times of need".
The First Minister said: "It is unacceptable that the UK Government insists on charging EU citizens, including children, a fee to apply for a status they are already entitled to.
"The Scottish Government is committed to paying the fee for EU citizens working in our devolved public services.
"However, the UK Government will not allow third-party payments, thereby forcing EU citizens to pay it up-front."
Sturgeon added: "EU citizens working in our public services are crucial to their successful delivery.
"It is of great concern that the more barriers the UK Government places on enabling people to stay in the UK, the more people could be forced to leave.
"In Scotland we are already seeing a drop in applications from nurses from across the EU - and that is hardly surprising given the hostile environment being created by UK Government policy.
"The UK Government has consistently failed to deliver a suitable migration policy for Scotland.
"Instead of forcing charges upon EU citizens, the UK Government should value the doctors, nurses and carers working day in, day out to provide care in our times of need, and drop the settled status fee."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel