Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2022 to Question 19629 on Afghanistan: Refugees, if he will publish a list of the partners in the region referred to in that Answer; how many fully documented ARAP cases were awaiting processing in the latest period for which figures are available; on what date the oldest fully documented ARAP visa application case awaiting a visa was submitted; and how his Department determines whether an applicant has died before a visa is processed.
Answered by James Heappey
We continue to work alongside international partners to relocate eligible Afghans through third countries. Beyond the obvious and hugely appreciated co-operation with Pakistan, other governments in the region have asked that their support is not made public. We respect their wishes and are grateful for their support.
As of 29 June 2022, we have approximately 200 ARAP principal applicants who have received their ARAP offer letters and whose relocation to the UK we are currently processing.
Every ARAP application, including those that are ARAP eligible, is complex with a range of individual circumstances to consider, and we are unable to provide a specific number of those who are documented and those who are not. We continue to support those eligible in their relocation to the UK, as required on a case-by-case basis.
The earliest case awaiting a visa relates to an ARAP visa application made on 19 October 2021.
As confirmed in my answer to Question 19629, no cases have been closed because of the death of an applicant. ARAP caseworkers are in regular contact with eligible persons and will take appropriate steps should they be notified of a death.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2022 to Question 19629 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff employed by his Department (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas are assigned to dealing with outstanding Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy applications as of 30 June 2022.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 30 June 2022, there were a total of 91 personnel assigned to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, broken down as follows:
a) There are 85 full-time staff working on the ARAP scheme.
i. 71 are in the UK
ii. 14 are overseas
b) There are six part-time staff working on the ARAP scheme.
i. six are in the UK
ii. 0 are overseas
These figures include both civilian and military staff making eligibility decisions, policy and legal teams who are working to arrange relocation of, and those based in the UK and in third countries who are working to arrange relocation of eligible persons. Figures include short term augmentees which vary over time; recent recruitment means that the team is increasingly resourced by permanent staff.
We anticipate new routes opening with the support of partners on the region that will allow us to accelerate the flow of ARAP personnel leaving Afghanistan. In anticipation of this, additional staffing resource will be allocated to the team to allow decisions to continue to be made at the pace egress routes allow.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the oldest application that is yet to be fully processed was submitted to his Department through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP); how many staff in his Department are assigned to dealing with outstanding ARAP applications as of 16 June 2022; how many ARAP applications were closed due to the applicant (a) being killed and (b) dying since the scheme was launched; and what estimate has he made of the number of people awaiting an outcome of their ARAP application who are known to be at risk of being killed by the Taliban.
Answered by James Heappey
The earliest unresolved case dates from 1 April 2021 and relates to an individual that we have contacted three times requesting further information relating to their eligibility.
Since January 2022, the Ministry of Defence has received approximately 3,000 ARAP applications per month. Many of these are duplicates of applications already made. The number of open cases, therefore, does not reflect the number of eligible people that remain in Afghanistan. We assess that to be around 8,000 (inclusive of their dependents). This figure is subject to change as we continue to work through the outstanding applications.
No cases have been closed because of the death of an applicant although we are aware of the acute threat that a number of applicants face whilst they remain in Afghanistan.
However, the speed of decision making in HM Government is not the regulator on the speed of evacuation. Many ARAP applicants are undocumented and cannot leave Afghanistan through any official route. We are bringing them out at the speed our partners in the region will allow.
Whilst we are putting additional resource into clearing a backlog of ARAP applications, our priority is in securing permission from regional partners to accelerate the pace at which we can bring undocumented applicants out of Afghanistan.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, how many cases are outstanding (a) in total and (b) for female judges as of 8 June 2022; and what the average time taken to process a case is.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 8 June 2022, there are 15,340 applications awaiting an initial decision. It is not possible to provide a breakdown based on gender or job title.
We are working at pace to consider each application on a case-by-case basis and timelines for processing applications vary significantly from case to case, due to the complexity and personal circumstances of each applicant.