Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 46 on page 15 of the International Development Committee’s Fifth Report of Session 2021-22 entitled Afghanistan: UK support for aid workers and the Afghan people, published on 1 March 2022, in which the Committee welcomed the establishment in October 2021 of the Joint Afghanistan Casework Unit (JACU), if he will make an assessment of the performance of JACU in meeting its objective to take forward the UK’s commitment to resettle individuals and family member who are confirmed to be eligible for resettlement to the UK under the terms of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS); how many cases relating to Afghan aid workers the JACU (a) has taken receipt of and (b) is actively working on; and if he will make a statement.

The Joint Afghanistan Casework Unit (JACU) was established during Operation PITTING and has effectively co-ordinated case-working on the Afghan resettlement schemes across the Home Office, Ministry of Defence and FCDO, and helped to support eligible individuals overseas.

We do not collect comprehensive data on the profession or minority status of those relocated. Since April 2021, over 22,800 people have been brought to safety from Afghanistan, including over 1,000 people who were campaigners for women's rights, human rights defenders, Chevening scholars, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.

The FCDO has around 30 staff working on Afghan relocation and resettlement. This includes a dedicated team working on Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3 referrals. We do not hold information on staffing at the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence.

Worldwide operating costs incurred by the FCDO on Afghan relocation from 1 April to 31 October 2022 were £11,287,856. These costs were not attributed as Official Development Assistance.

Please refer to the published data on arrivals: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data/afghan-resettlement-programme-operational-data