Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the clarity of advice issued to hon. Members and their staff about which Government department they should approach with enquiries from constituents who have relatives or friends in Afghanistan seeking (a) safe passage to or (b) refuge in the UK.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government continues to press the Taliban to allow safe passage and to respect human rights, and to work to enable Afghan nationals who were employed by the UK Government, or who were notified by the Government that they were called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, to come to the UK. Further guidance and helplines numbers for British and non-British nationals in Afghanistan are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-british-and-non-british-nationals-in-afghanistan. This page will be updated when new information is available.
Hon. Members should approach the MoD with enquiries regarding Afghan nationals who might be eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. The eligibility criteria for the ARAP scheme are set out here, alongside details of how to apply: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy-information-and-guidance.
They should approach the Home Office regarding the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), information on which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.
FCDO provides consular support to British nationals. We encourage all British nationals who remain in Afghanistan to confirm their presence using this form: https://www.register-afghanistan.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/afghanistan-20210828/confirm-your-presence-in-afghanistan-to-fcdo to give us detailed information of those remaining. All British nationals who have correctly registered their details with the FCDO will receive important updates via email.
If constituents' relatives or friends in Afghanistan are not British nationals and are not otherwise eligible to come to the UK, then there is a limit to what the British Government can do for them as individuals. The Government is committed to supporting Afghanistan and we will use every diplomatic and economic lever at our disposal to restore stability to Afghanistan.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential role for (a) UK and international volunteers and (b) UK Non Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations which facilitate volunteering in the delivery of the UK's global aid priorities.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK Government appreciates the contribution volunteers and civil society organisations can make to the UK's global aid priorities. Our Volunteering for Development (V4D) programme is helping poor and marginalised people globally to access more relevant and inclusive education, health, and livelihoods services. For example, through V4D's Sisters for Sisters project in Nepal, women community volunteers have improved participation by younger girls in schools through a focus on gender inclusion and addressing barriers that prevent or limit participation.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will consider establishing an emergency (a) telephone helpline and (b) email address for hon Members who wish to make enquiries on behalf of (i) UK citizens seeking to return to the UK and (ii) Afghan nationals seeking safe passage to the UK following the fall of the previous Afghan government.
Answered by Amanda Milling
As the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa said in the House on 15 September, during the evacuation operation alone the FCDO received over 200,000 emails. Responding to cases and correspondence from hon. Members is a priority for this Government. We took, and still take seriously, our duty to look into every single case raised by a Member. Where members of the public and MPs have written, either through the help@fcdo.gov.uk mailbox, or through standard FCDO correspondence, these have been triaged and the details logged. MPs also have access to the MP hotline and FCDO staff continue to follow up on urgent cases.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants have been engaged in dealing with enquiries from hon. Members since the fall of the previous Afghan government with regard to (a) UK citizens seeking to return to the UK and (b) Afghan nationals seeking safe passage to the UK.
Answered by Amanda Milling
Responding to MPs' cases and correspondence remains a top priority for the Government and the FCDO has been working tirelessly to undertake the task. Staff from across the global FCDO network have been pulled into the crisis surge team along with colleagues from MOD and HMRC. We have had multiple shifts of over 100 people working throughout the day and night, 7 days a week to deliver and will continue to prioritise incoming correspondence.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) UK citizens have returned to the UK and (b) Afghan nationals seeking safe passage to the UK have been resettled in the UK since the fall of the previous Afghan government.
Answered by Amanda Milling
Since 15 August, the UK has evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan. That includes: over 8,000 British Nationals, close to 5,000 Afghans who loyally served the UK, along with their dependents, and around 500 special cases of particularly vulnerable Afghans, including Chevening scholars, academics, researchers, journalists, human rights defenders, campaigners for women's rights, judges and many others. This is in addition to the almost 2,000 people we brought to the UK between April and August under the ARAP scheme. Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan. Teams have also deployed to Qatar and UAE to assist our operations there and we are providing consular support to British nationals who were evacuated by other allies, including via US airbases in Europe.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding the Government has allocated to support for (a) UK citizens seeking to return to the UK from Afghanistan and (b) Afghan nationals seeking safe passage to the UK following the fall of the previous Afghan government.
Answered by Amanda Milling
On 3 September FCDO announced £30 million of additional humanitarian funding to assist the regional response to the surge in refugees. £10 million was immediately made available to humanitarian partners, such as the UNHCR, in order to enable essential supplies such as shelters, sanitation and hygiene facilities to be erected at the Afghanistan border. The remaining £20 million will be allocated to countries that experience a significant increase in refugees to support reception and registration facilities and provide essential services and supplies. In addition, the FCDO chartered 30 flights for the Afghan evacuation, at a total cost of circa £7 million.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken in order to assist (a) UK citizens seeking to return to the UK and (b) Afghan nationals seeking safe passage to the UK following the fall of the previous Afghan Government in August 2021.
Answered by Amanda Milling
Since 15 August, the UK has evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan. That includes: over 8,000 British Nationals, close to 5,000 Afghans who loyally served the UK, along with their dependents, and around 500 special cases of particularly vulnerable Afghans, including Chevening scholars, academics, researchers, journalists, human rights defenders, campaigners for women's rights, judges and many others. All these figures include dependants. This is in addition to the almost 2,000 people we brought to the UK between April and August under the ARAP scheme.
Our immediate focus is on ensuring safe passage for anyone remaining in Afghanistan who is eligible to come to the UK and wishes to leave. We continue to work closely with the Qatari authorities to facilitate the evacuation of British nationals from Kabul.
Rapid Deployment Teams have been sent to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to reinforce our Embassy staff to process arrivals from Afghanistan. Teams have also deployed to Qatar and UAE to assist our operations there and we are providing consular support to British nationals who were evacuated by other allies, including via US airbases in Europe.