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| Scottish government to pay residency fees for EU citizens in its public sector | Scottish government to pay residency fees for EU citizens in its public sector |
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| Nicola Sturgeon has offered to pay the residency fees for EU citizens who currently work in the Scottish public sector, in an effort to reinforce her government’s anti-Brexit credentials. | |
| Sturgeon said the pledge, to be set out in her speech at the Scottish National party conference on Tuesday, was designed to protect EU nationals from the “looming threat” of Brexit. | |
| The SNP estimates that 20,000 citizens from other EU countries work in Scottish public services, such as hospitals, schools and universities. The UK government has said they will be able to apply for residency if they have lived in the UK for five years or more at the point of Brexit. | The SNP estimates that 20,000 citizens from other EU countries work in Scottish public services, such as hospitals, schools and universities. The UK government has said they will be able to apply for residency if they have lived in the UK for five years or more at the point of Brexit. |
| Although it remains unclear what this scheme will cost, the current Home Office fee for naturalisation is £1,282, implying that it will cost the Scottish government up to £25.6m to fund those applications. | Although it remains unclear what this scheme will cost, the current Home Office fee for naturalisation is £1,282, implying that it will cost the Scottish government up to £25.6m to fund those applications. |
| After urging private companies to consider the same offer in a statement on Saturday, Sturgeon said in an appearance on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 on Sunday that it “sends a message to EU nationals that we want them to stay here because we welcome them”. | |
| The Scottish Tories dismissed the offer as a “stunt”. The Scottish government would want EU nationals to have a vote in a future Scottish independence referendum, as they did in the 2014 referendum. | The Scottish Tories dismissed the offer as a “stunt”. The Scottish government would want EU nationals to have a vote in a future Scottish independence referendum, as they did in the 2014 referendum. |
| This year’s SNP conference opens in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon with a speech from the deputy first minister, John Swinney, against a background of mounting political and financial problems for Sturgeon’s government. | |
| Sturgeon has been forced to suspend her demands for a second independence vote by spring 2019 after the SNP lost 21 of its 56 Westminster seats in June’s snap election. She is instead pursuing a compromise deal with the Tories over the EU withdrawal bill, to increase protections for Scotland’s powers and spending after Brexit. | Sturgeon has been forced to suspend her demands for a second independence vote by spring 2019 after the SNP lost 21 of its 56 Westminster seats in June’s snap election. She is instead pursuing a compromise deal with the Tories over the EU withdrawal bill, to increase protections for Scotland’s powers and spending after Brexit. |
| Sturgeon is putting far greater emphasis on new domestic policies, including school reforms and heavier investment in education in deprived areas, a more radical climate strategy and a pledge to invest £500m above inflation into the NHS. | Sturgeon is putting far greater emphasis on new domestic policies, including school reforms and heavier investment in education in deprived areas, a more radical climate strategy and a pledge to invest £500m above inflation into the NHS. |
| With Treasury funding being cut and Scottish tax receipts likely to be subdued, economists at the Fraser of Allander Institute calculate that these spending increases mean other departments could see their funding cut by up to 20% by 2020-21. | |
| Public sector unions are pressing her government to increase pay across the board by 5%, after Sturgeon pledged to lift the 1% cap on public sector pay, putting her budgets under even greater pressure. | Public sector unions are pressing her government to increase pay across the board by 5%, after Sturgeon pledged to lift the 1% cap on public sector pay, putting her budgets under even greater pressure. |
| Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Sturgeon brushed off suggestions that a new YouGov opinion poll for the Times showed the SNP would lose six of its 63 Holyrood seats. | Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Sturgeon brushed off suggestions that a new YouGov opinion poll for the Times showed the SNP would lose six of its 63 Holyrood seats. |
| It put the SNP on 42% of the constituency vote and 35% on the regional list vote for Holyrood, a 4.5% fall on the constituency vote and 6.7% down on the regional list. Sturgeon said it still left the SNP 17 points ahead of Labour: “We’re in a very strong position.” | |
| Pressed by both Marr and Robert Peston to set out her thinking on the timing of the next referendum, Sturgeon insisted she had not dropped plans for a new independence vote. | Pressed by both Marr and Robert Peston to set out her thinking on the timing of the next referendum, Sturgeon insisted she had not dropped plans for a new independence vote. |
| She said the 2016 Holyrood elections, reinforced by the 35 seats the SNP won in June, gave her a hefty mandate to stage one. She confirmed she would update Holyrood on her thinking about the best timing later in 2018. | She said the 2016 Holyrood elections, reinforced by the 35 seats the SNP won in June, gave her a hefty mandate to stage one. She confirmed she would update Holyrood on her thinking about the best timing later in 2018. |
| “At the core of everything I do, what will guide me, is what’s in the best interests of the people I represent as first minister, and not simply to accept the inevitability of a path that’s going to [damage] jobs and livelihoods and living standards,” she told Peston. | |
| Sturgeon also urged the Spanish government to negotiate a deal with the Catalans to allow a proper vote on independence. “We really need to see dialogue replacing confrontation,” she said. “A way forward has to be found that respects the rule of law – that is important – respects democracy but also respects the right of the people of Catalonia to determine their own future. | Sturgeon also urged the Spanish government to negotiate a deal with the Catalans to allow a proper vote on independence. “We really need to see dialogue replacing confrontation,” she said. “A way forward has to be found that respects the rule of law – that is important – respects democracy but also respects the right of the people of Catalonia to determine their own future. |
| “It can’t in a democracy simply be illegal for people to decide what kind of future they want. That’s absurd.” | “It can’t in a democracy simply be illegal for people to decide what kind of future they want. That’s absurd.” |