Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women in third countries who are (a) eligible for the (i) ACRS and (ii) ARAP schemes and (b) in the third trimester of pregnancy are flown to the UK before they are no longer fit to fly.

The Ministry of Defence oversees the relocation of Eligible Persons (EPs) to the United Kingdom under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, working in close partnership with other Government departments.

As part of the relocation process, the Ministry of Defence makes every effort to ensure that all EPs are medically fit to travel before departure, through work undertaken by His Majesty's Government’s (HMG) contracted medical advisor. When HMG are aware of pregnancy, flights are arranged to allow travel as quickly and as safely as is possible. This is, however, dependent on EPs disclosing their pregnancy, which we cannot guarantee.

For the separate Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), flights and travel assistance are arranged by the Home Office and its partners, including the International Organization for Migration.