Fears for foreign exchange trips as peers urge Government to scrap plans to force all children from Europe to carry passports

Fears have been expressed for foreign exchange trips as peers urge the Government to scrap plans that would force all children from Europe to carry passports after Brexit is completed. The Government plans to end the use of European ID cards as proof of identity for travel when the transition period ends on December 31. Promised by the Conservative Party in December last year before Boris Johnson’s landslide general election win, the plan is now set to be codified as part of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination Bill. The restriction on ID cards was first floated by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, with the intention of improving border security of the UK after it leaves the European Union. Monday (October 5) will see the Bill debated in the House of Lords at its report stage amid warnings from peers that it could “devastate” the UK’s English language schooling sector. Writing in Monday's Telegraph, peers including Lord Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, and the crossbench peer Lord Alton warn that the industry “may not survive” the double blow of Brexit and Covid-19.