Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan interpreters have moved to the UK under the intimidation scheme since its inception.

Prior to the launch of the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), under the intimidation policy, 21 people were relocated to the UK. This includes the Locally Employed Staff member and their immediate family.

The ARAP scheme came into effect on 1 April 2021 and offers the relocation of current and former local staff in Afghanistan, including interpreters and their immediate families.

This new scheme acknowledges and reflects that the situation in Afghanistan has changed, and with it the potential risk to the local staff who have worked for the UK Government over the past twenty years.

Under the new policy, any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life are offered priority relocation to the UK regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.