Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on what date he plans to host the 4th European Political Community Summit.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We value the European Political Community (EPC) as an important platform for coordination and discussion on pan-European issues. We are consulting partners about the UK EPC Summit and will make an announcement in due course.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme eligible Afghan nationals classed as (i) principals and (ii) dependents are in Pakistan as of 11 December 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As of 12 December, the number of eligible persons in Pakistan who qualified via Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was 232 principals and 1,147 dependents and the number of eligible persons who qualified via Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3 was 178 principals and 724 dependents.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme principals his Department has wrongly assessed as eligible.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3, the FCDO have made assessments against the eligibility criteria as set out on gov.uk. In a small number of cases where an individual has been assessed as eligible in principle for resettlement, eligibility has subsequently been withdrawn. This is where we have received additional information, either from the individual or in the case of British Council or Gardaworld contractors from their relevant employer and the FCDO has assessed that the individual no longer meets the eligibility criteria or did not meet them in the first instance.
We will provide more detail on ACRS Pathway 3 numbers once we have completed processing all expressions of interest and have assured data.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since February 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We condemn Russia's inhumane assault against Ukraine's civilian population and infrastructure. From February 2022 to 8 October 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 27,768 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 9,806 killed and 17,962 injured. The actual figures are believed to be considerably higher given the challenges of receiving accurate information from locations under Russian control. The UK is committed to ensuring those responsible for atrocities in Ukraine are held accountable. We are supporting the International Criminal Court's independent investigations and Ukrainian domestic judicial processes, including through the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, which provides practical assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Government has spent on housing Afghans in hotel accommodation in Pakistan since August 2021.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Between August 2021 and September 2023, the UK spent approximately £26.7 million accommodating Afghan nationals eligible for resettlement in the UK under the ARAP and ACRS schemes in hotels in Pakistan.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Afghans are being housed in UK-funded hotel accommodation in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As of 18 October 2023, there are approximately 3,250 Afghans eligible for resettlement in the UK under the ARAP or ACRS schemes in UK funded hotel accommodation in Pakistan.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2023 to Question 192253 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) eligible principals his Department has placed on commercial flights from Pakistan to the UK for relocation under the ARAP scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Since 1 December 2022, the number of Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - eligible persons placed on commercial flights from Pakistan to the UK is 35 (this includes 4 principals and 31 dependents).
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the (a) priorities and (b) objectives are of MI6 for its chairship of NATO’s intelligence committee.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April to Question 175506 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many of the 200 individuals informed by his Department to be eligible in principle for resettlement to the UK under Pathway 3 were (a) British Council workers, (b) GardaWorld contractors, (c) Chevening alumni and (d) other.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO has informed over 250 British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni that they are eligible in principle for resettlement under ACRS Pathway 3, subject to passing security checks. Including their family members, this accounts for over 1,200 of the 1,500 available places in the first year under Pathway 3. The FCDO has been in contact with all individuals who submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 and has communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98 per cent) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate the remaining places. We will not be commenting on individual cohort numbers while EOIs are still being processed and security checks are outstanding. We will update Parliament once we have completed the allocation process, notified all those who submitted EOIs of the outcome and have assured data to share.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April to Question 175506 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many of the 11,200 people who submitted an expression of interest and were not deemed eligible in principle for relocation to the UK under Pathway 3, have been informed of their ineligibility.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO has informed over 250 British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni that they are eligible in principle for resettlement under ACRS Pathway 3, subject to passing security checks. Including their family members, this accounts for over 1,200 of the 1,500 available places in the first year under Pathway 3. The FCDO has been in contact with all individuals who submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 and has communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98 per cent) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate the remaining places. We will not be commenting on individual cohort numbers while EOIs are still being processed and security checks are outstanding. We will update Parliament once we have completed the allocation process, notified all those who submitted EOIs of the outcome and have assured data to share.