Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has indefinitely retained any documents related to (a) the Falklands War and (b) the attack on RFA Sir Galahad which are deemed to be of a nature that would be prejudicial to national security, defence or international relations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
All records are reviewed as part of the Public Records Act (PRA) and may be retained for a variety of reasons.
I can confirm that records relating to the Falklands conflict have been retained under Section 26 (National Defence) and Section 27 (international relations).
The records concerning RFA Sir Galahad have been reviewed under both the PRA and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and retained under Sections 40 (Personal Information) and 41 (Information Provided in Confidence) until the year 2065.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many have people who (a) applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme category 4 and (b) whose application for the scheme under this category was subsequently rejected hold information the disclosure of which would give rise to or aggravate a specific threat to the UK Government or its interests.
Answered by James Heappey
The data requested is not available.
Applicants to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy scheme do not apply for specific categories. As such, all applications are considered against each category before a decision is made. The role the applicant played in support of HMG objectives in Afghanistan is fully assessed as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the professions eligible for consideration under category 4 of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme.
Answered by James Heappey
There is not a finite list of professions eligible for consideration under Category 4 of the ARAP scheme. As set out in published policy, decisions for eligibility under Category 4 are taken on a case-by-case basis against a set of criteria, which allows for broader consideration of applications than would be the case if considering against specific job roles.
The published criteria are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy-information-and-guidance
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government publishes information on the appeals process for Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Category 4 candidates who have had their application rejected.
Answered by James Heappey
Our Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme reviews process is published on gov.uk and is available at the following link:
All unsuccessful ARAP applicants have the right to request a review within 90 days of receipt of their outcome letter.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many have applications for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme Category 4 have been (a) received, (b) accepted and (c) rejected.
Answered by James Heappey
Applicants to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme do not apply for specific categories. As such, all applications are considered against each category before a decision is made. For this reason, we do not hold data on applications and rejections specifically under Category 4.
To date the Ministry of Defence has processed 22,345 applications. A total of 3,399 have been granted eligibility, of which around 1,600 grants have been recorded as being under Category 4. Since the scheme began, we have relocated over 12,200 people to the United Kingdom. Category 4 data is taken from a live database and is subject to change.
We are now processing and issuing decisions on more applications per month than we are receiving, and in March 2023 we issued more eligibility decisions than in any month previously.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy to Afghan (a) special forces personnel and (b) fighter pilots trained by UK Armed Forces who face risks of reprisal in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Heappey
There are no plans to widen the ARAP criteria, which is more generous than previous Afghan relocation schemes. Furthermore, the provisions requested by the hon. Member in her question are already catered for by the ARAP scheme under Category 4. This category provides for eligibility to be granted on a case-by-case basis to Afghan nationals who worked in Afghanistan alongside a UK Government Department, or in partnership with or closely supporting and assisting that Department; alongside consideration, amongst other criteria, of the contribution an individual made to UK objectives and the threat they are now under.
The full criteria are publicly available at:
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will launch a formal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 1982 attack on the RFA Sir Galahad.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
A Board of Inquiry was convened on 12 July 1982 to investigate the loss of RFA Sir Galahad.
The redacted copy of this report is held at this link: https://falklandstimeline.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/board-of-inquiry-report-into-the-loss-of-rfa-sir-tristram-and-rfa-sir-galahad-june-8-1982.pdf.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) ordinary and (b) named-day written questions their Department answered on time in 2022.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The proportion of ordinary and named-day written Parliamentary questions answered on time in 2022 by the Ministry of Defence is given in the following table:
Question Type | Due For Answer | Answered on Time |
Named-Day | 1,352 | 1,226 (91%) |
Ordinary Written | 1,996 | 1,879 (96%) |
Total | 3,105 | 3,105 (94%) |
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
All Government Departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence from Members of Parliament, and officials remain committed to providing the highest level of service. To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, the MOD offers training sessions to its staff on the importance of Parliamentary Business, including the timeliness and quality of PQs and correspondence.
Between the period of May to July 2022 inclusive, the MOD answered 96% of PQs and 89% of correspondence from Members of Parliament on time.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the daily cost is of housing those who have arrived in the UK under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Scheme and (b) Afghan Resettlement Scheme in bridging hotels; and what steps the Government is taking to provide that group of people with secure long-term accommodation as quickly as possible.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The total cost currently incurred by the Home Office in procuring hotel accommodation for both resettled persons from Afghanistan and other groups housed in hotels amounts to £4.7 million per day.
We continue to work across government with local authorities to source appropriate long-term accommodation as quickly as possible. As of the 7 June, 4,829 ARAP individuals have been settled into permanent accommodation.