Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timeframe is for opening the Afghan citizens' resettlement scheme; and whether Uyghurs living in Afghanistan will qualify as a vulnerable ethnic minority group under that scheme.

Through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the UK will relocate up to 20,000 people at risk. It will prioritise those who have stood up for values such as democracy and women’s rights in Afghanistan, as well as vulnerable people including ethnic and religious minorities such as Uyghurs.

The first to be resettled through this scheme will be those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk – including women’s rights activists, prosecutors and journalists.

We are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme, amid the complex and changing picture. We are working closely across government and with NGOs, charities, local authorities and civil society groups to ensure support is provided to people who are resettled through this route.

Further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement.