Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy

Question

What steps is he taking to help support Afghan nationals eligible for resettlement under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy scheme?

Question

I am proud to have an Afghan interpreter as a constituent, but I was ashamed to learn from him that his brother, who worked for six years directly for the SAS in Helmand province, had applied under the ARAP scheme and been rejected without a proper explanation. He is now in hiding in Afghanistan. Will the Minister take up that case as a matter of urgency, and will he explain to the House why his Government are still failing to support those Afghans who risked so much to support our armed forces?

Question

There is a deep sense of injustice among former serving officers and other military personnel that we have forgotten the moral obligation to Afghan military personnel and others who served alongside us. Will the Minister confirm just how many Afghan former military personnel are currently presenting as homeless in the UK, and how many are currently in hotels in Pakistan?

Question

In 2021, I held a public meeting shortly after the evacuation from Afghanistan. It was widely attended by worried and distressed residents, who all wanted help for their relatives' desperate situations in Afghanistan. Over two years have passed, and there are huge problems with ARAP. Can the Minister say why the Government are allowing people and their relatives to suffer for so long?

Question

I return to the question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington: how many applicants are still being kicked out of hotels in the UK, and how many are applying from Pakistan and in hiding?

Question

It is hardly in the spirit of Operation Warm Welcome that, as the second anniversary of the evacuation of Kabul passed, Afghans who supported our armed forces were still left crowded into hotels at the taxpayer's expense, or expected to move hundreds of miles from where they have managed to find employment and their children have settled into schools. When does the Minister now expect all Afghans in the schemes to be moved out of hotels and given suitable offers of accommodation?

Question

I commend to the Defence team a new book about the debt owed to people who supported our forces in Afghanistan. My specific concern is whether we have a proper database of all those eligible under the veterans' support scheme and whether this scheme can remain open for those still in hiding in Afghanistan unable to apply.

Question

I thank the Minister for his remarks. I acknowledge Colchester City Council and Essex County Council's efforts in supporting Afghan nationals since last autumn. However, we have six families and 40 individuals in temporary accommodation who need continued support. Can you give assurances about cross-Government work to ensure these families transition out of hotels into permanent housing, particularly the Department's efforts on employment support?