Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the UK resuming in-country consular support in Afghanistan.

Our focus is on the immediate priorities of ensuring safe passage for anyone remaining in Afghanistan who is eligible to come to the UK and wishes to leave, supporting the thousands of new arrivals in the UK, and continuing to provide assistance to the Afghan people. Our Embassy to Afghanistan has temporarily relocated to Qatar, until it can be re-established in Afghanistan, to lead our diplomatic, security and humanitarian engagement remotely. The situation on the ground remains fluid and we will continue to review this posture. Our High Commission in Pakistan and Embassies in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Qatar, reinforced by Rapid Deployment Teams, are also providing consular support.