Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government provided (a) funding and (b) training to (i) Afghan Territorial Force 444 and (ii) Commando Force 333 units during Operation Herrick.

Commando Force 333 (CF) And Afghanistan Territorial Force 444 (AF444) were an Afghan-led component of the Afghan security forces, paid for and reporting into the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MOI).

The UK Armed Forces provided training and capacity-building support to the Afghanistan Territorial Force as part a wide package of assistance. This included reimbursing expenses to some individuals who incurred costs as a result of operating alongside UK Armed Forces.

I should note again however, that not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as AF 444 and CF 333, will automatically be eligible for ARAP. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis on its own merits. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applicants and relocating them as quickly as we can.