Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September to Question 41934 on Afghanistan: Refugees, how many principals with confirmed eligibility under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme have not been relocated to the UK for more than six months since confirmation of that eligibility.

As of 29 November 2022, we are aware of approximately 332 Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) eligible principals who received an eligibility decision either on or prior to 28 May 2022 that have not yet been relocated to the UK. We are relocating individuals and their family members as quickly as possible, actively communicating with individuals to resolve a range of potential barriers to travel.

The conditions in Afghanistan mean that supporting the movement of ARAP eligible persons out of Afghanistan is complex, but despite this we are continuing to move individuals to safety. To date, we have relocated over 12,000 ARAP principals and their dependants to the UK, including over 5,000 since Op PITTING concluded at the end of August 2021.