Mr. David Kelly:

The legislation has been in development for quite some time. It is a complex legal area, particularly when we look at entitlements for EU citizens. There is a changing body of case law. There would have been quite a significant period of engagement with the Attorney General's office on the development of the draft scheme. It is not, therefore, something that was introduced instantly. It was under development for quite some time. That is the first point. This is not an immediate or short-term reaction to anything. It is something that has probably been understood for quite some time.

I will touch on the other things concisely. On the appeals mechanism, we have caught some of the interventions, although not all of them. However, it has been raised as part of stakeholder engagement previously. The appeals mechanism is something on which we will work with the Attorney General's office during the drafting process to make sure there is a robust system in place.

With regard to local authorities, any time new legislation is issued, the Department will always work with the sector to prepare detailed guidance on the implementation. There will generally be detailed circulars to issue to local authorities to accompany new legislation. Generally, legislation would not be commenced until local authorities are geared up to implement it and there is an understanding. Therefore, there will be a lot of training for local authority staff. The Housing Agency tends to do a lot of work with local authorities and communities of practice stakeholder engagement.

There will be quite a period of engagement with local authorities, prior to and during the enactment of the legislation, to make sure that there is a consistent implementation across the 31 local authorities.