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 Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the status of the investigation by Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests into the events related to the hon. Member for Wealden's departure from Government in February 2020 is; and with reference to the Cabinet Secretary’s oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 28 June 2022, Q448, whether his Department provided briefing to the Prime Minister on that matter.
Answered by Michael Ellis
This investigation had not been completed by Lord Geidt prior to his resignation. The investigation, therefore, remains outstanding.
The Prime Minister has taken the decision that the investigation should be a matter for a new Independent Adviser function, as soon as appointed by his successor.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff employed by her Department (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas are assigned to dealing with outstanding Ukrainian refugee visa applications as of 12 July 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Currently there are approx. 450 staff working on these schemes which are a mixture of resource from the Home Office and other government departments.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the investigation by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests into the events related to the hon. Member for Wealden's departure from Government in February 2020, for what reason that report has not been published; and if he will publish that report before a new Prime Minister takes office.
Answered by Michael Ellis
This investigation had not been completed by Lord Geidt prior to his resignation. The investigation, therefore, remains outstanding.
The Prime Minister has taken the decision that the investigation should be a matter for a new Independent Adviser function, as soon as appointed by his successor.
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what additional resources the Government is providing to Wealden District Council which is hosting the highest number of Ukrainian arrivals in East Sussex.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
We are working closely with local authorities to identify support needs through multiple channels including Ministerial roundtables attended by local government representatives, official led working group meetings, and ongoing engagement with local authority Chief Executives and senior representatives. The most up to date guidance for local authorities can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
If the Hon Member has specific concerns I am happy to arrange for her to meet with the Minister for Refugees to discuss this further. I understand the Minister for Refugees has plans to visit the Hon Member’s constituency shortly.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainian refugees (a) have already and (b) are expected to arrive in Wealden constituency.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority .
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Ukrainian refugees have arrived in each council district in the South East in the last six months.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The most up to date data on arrivals through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority .
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 Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) cases that were formerly ARAP cases; when the oldest ACRS application still in process was submitted; the number of staff appointed to deal with the ACRS cases; the number of ACRS applications that have been closed due to the applicant either being killed or dying; and the number of ACRS applicants on the Taliban Kill list.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Over 15,000 people were supported to come to the UK directly following the evacuation of Afghanistan, and more than 4,000 have since arrived.
Work is underway to ensure information relating to all the individuals relocated under all schemes are recorded on case working systems. Once this work concludes, statistics on ACRS and ARAP will be included in future editions of the Immigration Statistics. We will publish resettlement figures in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, allowing transparent progress-monitoring.
The ACRS is not application-based. Instead, eligible people will be prioritised for resettlement through three referral pathways.
Some of those brought to safety in the UK during and after the evacuation are eligible for the ACRS under Pathway 1. They include women’s rights activists, journalists, and prosecutors, as well as the Afghan families of British Nationals. We have now granted many of these ILR under the ACRS.
Under the newly-opened second pathway, we are now able to begin receiving referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK.
The FCDO have also launched the third referral pathway, which will see eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni considered for resettlement to the UK.
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine.