Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has held discussions with UK research bodies on opportunities to recruit American scientists impacted by US budget cuts.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Immigration White Paper and Modern Industrial Strategy emphasised the importance of enabling high-skilled international researchers to come to the UK with ease, and committed to improvements to key visa routes, including the Global Talent Visa.
The £54 million Global Talent Fund will attract around 60-80 leading researchers across Industrial Strategy sectors including Life Sciences to UK institutions. The Fund includes targeted visa and relocation cost support, and complements existing funding and talent schemes from UKRI, the National Academies and NIHR.
The new Global Talent Taskforce will promote UK strengths and opportunities to exceptional talent, including international Life Sciences talent.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to attract US Alzheimer’s research scientists to UK institutions.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Immigration White Paper and Modern Industrial Strategy emphasised the importance of enabling high-skilled international researchers to come to the UK with ease, and committed to improvements to key visa routes, including the Global Talent Visa.
The £54 million Global Talent Fund will attract around 60-80 leading researchers across Industrial Strategy sectors including Life Sciences to UK institutions. The Fund includes targeted visa and relocation cost support, and complements existing funding and talent schemes from UKRI, the National Academies and NIHR.
The new Global Talent Taskforce will promote UK strengths and opportunities to exceptional talent, including international Life Sciences talent.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to attract US cancer research scientists to UK institutions.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Immigration White Paper and Modern Industrial Strategy emphasised the importance of enabling high-skilled international researchers to come to the UK with ease, and committed to improvements to key visa routes, including the Global Talent Visa.
The £54 million Global Talent Fund will attract around 60-80 leading researchers across Industrial Strategy sectors including Life Sciences to UK institutions. The Fund includes targeted visa and relocation cost support, and complements existing funding and talent schemes from UKRI, the National Academies and NIHR.
The new Global Talent Taskforce will promote UK strengths and opportunities to exceptional talent, including international Life Sciences talent.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, why (a) notice or (b) a transition period was given for the closure of the ARAP scheme.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) Scheme was not created to be an open-ended scheme, and as such had strict eligibility criteria for applicants to meet before they would be offered relocation.
In statements made by the Ministry of Defence in December 2024 and May 2025, intent for scheme closure was reiterated. In the Written Ministerial Statement on 1 July 2025, we explained that throughout the previous year, we have regularly assessed progress, and carefully considered the right time to stop taking on new applications. As explained in that statement, we considered that we had reached the right point. Given the wider context, it was not considered necessary to provide for any transitional period.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to return of Weeton Barracks to its original military function; and what his planned timetable is for the complete withdrawal of ARAP-related residents.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Weeton Barracks has been occupied by 1st Battalion The Lancashire Regiment since 2024. It was not used as transitional accommodation for Afghans. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that only surplus Service Family Accommodation was allocated as part of the Afghan Relocation Programme.
There has been no impact caused by the Afghan Relocation Programme on military training operations or the availability of housing for Service personnel at Weeton Barracks.
The Afghan Entitled Persons (EPs) are expected to have vacated the Surplus SFA by the end of November 2025. Following the vacation of the Afghan EPs, the properties will be refurbished as required and made available for allocation to Service personnel.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of Weeton Barracks for transitional accommodation on (a) military training operations and (b) the availability of housing for service personnel and their families.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Weeton Barracks has been occupied by 1st Battalion The Lancashire Regiment since 2024. It was not used as transitional accommodation for Afghans. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that only surplus Service Family Accommodation was allocated as part of the Afghan Relocation Programme.
There has been no impact caused by the Afghan Relocation Programme on military training operations or the availability of housing for Service personnel at Weeton Barracks.
The Afghan Entitled Persons (EPs) are expected to have vacated the Surplus SFA by the end of November 2025. Following the vacation of the Afghan EPs, the properties will be refurbished as required and made available for allocation to Service personnel.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £400m Afghan Response Route funds announced on the 15 July 2025 was classified as Official Development Assistance in each year of operation; and from which Departments’ budgets it was sourced.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No money spent on relocation or resettlement in the UK as a result of the data loss incident is being paid for out of the Official Development Assistance budget.
HM Treasury included the cost of Afghan resettlement schemes, including the ARR, in the spending audit in July 2024, we have since fully funded the cost of the resettlement schemes as part of the 2025 Spending Review.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the relocation of Armed Forces personnel causing families to lose their place in the waiting list for NHS dental provision in their new location; and what requirements the Armed Forces Covenant makes on this matter.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Armed Forces Covenant requires organisations to give due regard to the principle that Service personnel and their families should face no disadvantage when developing, delivering, and reviewing policies and decisions that may impact the Armed Forces community. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to supporting the Armed Forces community under the Armed Forces Covenant and as announced by the Prime Minister in June, work is currently underway to put the Covenant fully into law. This means that the Legal Duty will apply across 14 broad policy areas, increasing from three, applying also to Central Government, Devolved Governments and at a local level.
The MOD recognises that, while there are challenges in accessing NHS dental care nationally, these difficulties are often exacerbated by the mobile nature of Service life. Defence actively works in close partnership with the NHS and other government departments to address these issues and explore solutions to improve access to essential services for Service families. Families of Service personnel who are currently receiving dental treatment in the UK and are about to be mobilised, or are returning from overseas can contact NHS England at england.armedforceshealth@nhs.net for advice on continuity of care.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish any documents about vetting or security clearance processes that were given to applicants of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
When the Taleban seized control in 2021, many thousands of people who served and supported our British Armed Forces were left in Afghanistan.
The UK made a commitment to honour the moral obligation we owe to those Afghans who stood with us and there was cross party support for this at the time. This became the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.
All those resettling in the UK under Afghan resettlement schemes are coming to the UK legally. As with all those arriving to the UK, all those found eligible for ARAP have to undergo robust security checks, including for national security. If they don’t pass these checks, they are not granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK
An application must first be made, by the applicant, to the Ministry of Defence, who will decide if the applicant is eligible. If they are eligible for relocation to the UK, the second stage is that the Ministry Of Defence (MOD) will on behalf of the applicant, make an application to the Home Office for entry clearance (if they are outside the UK) or settlement (if they are in the UK). Eligibility does not guarantee resettlement in the UK. Those who are eligible must first undergo checks in accordance with the UK Immigration Rules
The MOD, as part of the first stage, sends an offer letter to Eligible Persons (EPs) which details the vetting and security process that applicants must go through to enter the UK and signposts EPs to the Government's Immigration Rules for further guidance. Permission to enter the UK is subject to the enrolment of biometrics and security checks run by the Home Office as part of the second stage.
National security is a priority for this Government and all ARAP eligible individuals who arrive in the UK will have undergone thorough security checks.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans have arrived in the UK under the relocation scheme arising from the 2022 data leak of their identities.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As of 15 July 2025, under the Afghanistan Response Route, 900 principals are in Britain or in transit, together with 3,600 family members.