Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) the Linda Norgrove Foundation and (c) the Scottish Government on the potential merits of opening the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to nursing students from Afghanistan.

We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far, have brought around 24,600 individuals to the UK.

We continue to welcome individuals under all three pathways of the ACRS as set out in the policy statement and work with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans. Further information is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-version

Beyond the first stage of Pathway 3, which is now closed to referrals, we will continue to work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk under the next stage. Further detail will be set out in due course.

Whilst the government maintains a generous resettlement offer, we must recognise that the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.