Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan Debate

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Department: Ministry of Defence

Data Breach: ARAP Applicants in Afghanistan

Kim Johnson Excerpts
Tuesday 21st September 2021

(2 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ben Wallace Portrait Mr Wallace
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If my hon. Friend accepts that it will be rolling, because it is moving, I will be happy to write to him with details of a fixed period of time. Obviously those vast amounts were from a range of people and were speculative about potential refugee status as well as ARAP; part of the resource has been taken up trying to separate the two.

The other thing to say is that the Department and I started on ARAP when I went to see the Home Secretary in September 2020. That was when we realised that the previous scheme was not working, and it was why we took the steps that we needed to take. It was signed off by the National Security Council in December 2020. It is a scheme that is in large parts mature, but the final collapse in Kabul has clearly been the biggest test. That is why we will do everything we can for the people left behind.

Kim Johnson Portrait Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)
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This is the fourth data breach this year. Does the Secretary of State agree that his Department has a systemic problem with data security? What steps will he take to fix the issues and ensure the safety of the thousands still waiting to be evacuated? What assurances can he give to the families in my Liverpool, Riverside constituency who are very concerned about the safety of their loved ones who are still waiting to be evacuated?