Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time was between application and approval for successful Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme applications in the latest period for which data is available.

Not all ARAP applicants will receive an eligibility decision in the same timeframe. This could be due to the complexity of the case, the need to conduct checks with other Government Departments, or the length of time it takes an applicant to respond to follow-up queries. As such, it is not possible to provide the data requested as the timeframes can vary considerably.

I recognise the great concern all applicants to the scheme have for their safety and wellbeing. As such, considerable amounts of time, resources and personnel have been, and continue to be, deployed to ensure that applications are considered as quickly efficiently, accurately and fairly as possible.