Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January to Question 126514 on Refugees: Afghanistan, how many people have been resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway Two since the commencement of that scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on people resettled under Pathway 2 of the ACRS are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to September 2022. Data up to December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Mr Jimmy Lai Chee-ying who has been held in Stanley Prison in Hong Kong on charges under the National Security Law is a citizen of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department has shared with the UNHCR on the (a) procedure and (b) quotas for referral to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 2.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review. We will continue to receive UNHCR referrals to the scheme in coming years.
We have brought around 6,000 Afghans to the UK under ARAP and ACRS Pathway 1 since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul.
Statistics are available at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government has committed to welcoming up to 20,000 people over the coming years. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
UNHCR is responsible for making referrals onto the ACRS. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities, in line with their resettlement submission criteria. This includes women and girls at risk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a quota for the number of unaccompanied children who can be resettled under pathway 2 of the ACRS scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review. We will continue to receive UNHCR referrals to the scheme in coming years.
We have brought around 6,000 Afghans to the UK under ARAP and ACRS Pathway 1 since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul.
Statistics are available at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government has committed to welcoming up to 20,000 people over the coming years. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
UNHCR is responsible for making referrals onto the ACRS. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities, in line with their resettlement submission criteria. This includes women and girls at risk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a quota for the number of people who can be resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 2.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review. We will continue to receive UNHCR referrals to the scheme in coming years.
We have brought around 6,000 Afghans to the UK under ARAP and ACRS Pathway 1 since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul.
Statistics are available at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government has committed to welcoming up to 20,000 people over the coming years. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
UNHCR is responsible for making referrals onto the ACRS. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities, in line with their resettlement submission criteria. This includes women and girls at risk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme: Pathway 2.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We anticipate receiving referrals from UNHCR for up to 2,000 refugees during the first year of pathway 2, although this number will be kept under review. We will continue to receive UNHCR referrals to the scheme in coming years.
We have brought around 6,000 Afghans to the UK under ARAP and ACRS Pathway 1 since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul.
Statistics are available at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government has committed to welcoming up to 20,000 people over the coming years. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
UNHCR is responsible for making referrals onto the ACRS. UNHCR will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities, in line with their resettlement submission criteria. This includes women and girls at risk.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) eligibility criteria, (b) prioritisation criteria and (c) guidance for caseworkers for pathway 2 of the ACRS scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refer refugees who have fled Afghanistan to the scheme, based on an assessment of their protection needs and vulnerabilities.
UNHCR is responsible for out-of-country casework activity before individuals are referred to the Home Office.
The seven resettlement submission categories used by UNHCR are:
We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under this pathway and we will continue to receive further referrals.
Further information on the referral process can be found on the UNHCR website: https://help.unhcr.org
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to respond to correspondence from the Rt Hon. Member for East Ham dated 15 September 2022, reference ST100032.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office replied on 22 December.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has given to Afghan nationals at risk in Afghanistan who (a) worked for and (b) are affiliated with the UK Government.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) offers support and relocation to those who worked for, or with, the UK Government in Afghanistan, who are at risk of threat to life because of their work.
Guidance is available on GOV.UK here: Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy: further information on eligibility criteria, offer details and how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan nationals have been (a) accepted and (b) evacuated from Afghanistan under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme since it was formally opened.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has made one of the largest commitments to support Afghanistan of any country and, so far, we have brought around 23,000 people affected by the situation in Afghanistan to safety. This includes more than 6,300 vulnerable Afghan nationals through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Whilst the UK has made a generous resettlement commitment, we must bear in mind the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and therefore difficult decisions about who will be prioritised for resettlement have to be made.
Resettlement is just one element of the UK Government’s response to the situation in Afghanistan, in addition to our diplomatic efforts and international aid in the region, working alongside like-minded states and as part of the international community.