Later this morning, Bridgend Council’s equalities committee will be updated on community cohesion and the impact of Brexit (pdf).
Figures published in an accompanying report (pdf) have revealed how many EU and EEA citizens have applied to settle in Wales.
Brexit ended freedom of movement between the EU’s 27 member states (except the Republic of Ireland), the EEA (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway) and the UK. As a result, EU and EEA residents who wanted to stay permanently in the UK had to apply to settle by 30th June 2021.
Those who have full settled status can stay in the UK for as long as they like. Those who have pre-settled status can remain for five years from the point they receive pre-settled status and can apply for full settled status if they want to.
The expected number of applications in Bridgend has been massively underestimated by the Welsh Government.
The Welsh Government estimated Bridgend would see around 1,000 applications for settlement. The total – as of March 2021 – was closer to 2,300 (the equivalent of 1.6% of the total population of Bridgend county) – the vast majority of whom now have full settled status. It’s unclear how many EU citizens have left since Brexit was completed.
The majority of applications in Bridgend came from citizens of Poland (920), Romania (420) and Lithuania (170).
Across Wales, just under 88,000 applications were completed compared to an original estimate of 72,000.
More than half of all completed applications in Wales occurred in just five of Wales’ 22 counties: Cardiff (21,200), Newport (9,450), Swansea (8,120), Wrexham (7,940) and Flintshire (7,510).
In terms of the broader issue of community cohesion, the number of reported hate crimes in Bridgend has remained relatively low during the spring/summer of 2021 (possibly due to the pandemic) with between 12-16 incidents recorded each month from April-July 2021. The majority of recorded cases involved either race or sexual orientation.
A rolling roadshow of hate crime prevention sessions in Bridgend secondary schools has been set up by Show Racism the Red Card and the Welsh Government. At present, more than 1,000 students in Years 7-9 have taken part at four schools, with sessions at three more schools due to take place by March 2022.
