Legislative Scrutiny Memorandum 01: Earned Settlement and the Public-Law Boundary of Settlement Reform

This legislative scrutiny memorandum supplements House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee-published written evidence SCI0610. It examines the public-law boundary between lawful prospective settlement reform and unprotected mid-pathway alteration affecting existing Skilled Worker visa holders under the Earned Settlement proposals in CP1448. The memorandum considers whether applying materially extended settlement qualifying periods to individuals already progressing under the existing Skilled Worker route would remain within ordinary policy-adjustment principles, or approach the public-law concerns identified in R (Ooi and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007] EWHC 3221 (Admin) and R (HSMP Forum Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWHC 664 (Admin). The analysis focuses on legal certainty, legitimate expectations, reliance, transitional protection, and the avoidable public-law risk of unprotected mid-pathway alteration. It does not contest the lawfulness of prospective reform.