Thank you for contacting me about Afghan refugees.
I am sure you agree that we owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years. It is the case that many of these people, particularly women and children, are now in urgent need of help. The United Kingdom has a proud history of welcoming those fleeing persecution and oppression. I know that the Government will always stand by those in the world in their hour of need.
Thousands of Afghan women, children and others most in need will be welcomed to the UK. The Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is one of the most generous resettlement schemes in the history of the UK. The route is modelled on the successful Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, which resettled 20,000 Syrian refugees over a 7-year period from 2014 to 2021. 5,000 people will be resettled in the scheme's first year and up to 20,000 over the coming years.
The first to be resettled under the ACRS will be those already evacuated and in the UK. This includes women’s rights activists, journalists, and prosecutors, as well as the Afghan families of British nationals. The Government is supporting those British nationals who have been assisted by His Majesty’s Government to the UK as well as their families who require such help as it is recognised that they experienced the same trauma and have the same needs as their Afghan neighbours fleeing Kabul alongside them.
It is particularly encouraging that the two remaining referral pathways onto the ACRS have now opened, which means the UK will honour its commitment to eligible personnel who were called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, but were unable to board flights. Under pathway 2, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer for resettlement to the UK refugees who have fled Afghanistan. The Government anticipates receiving 2,000 referrals from UNHCR during the first year of this pathway, although this number will be kept under review. Under pathway 3, the Government committed to considering eligible at-risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will refer for resettlement up to 1,500 people from Afghanistan and the region through this route, including any eligible family members.
Funding will also be made available to resettle Afghan refugees. This includes £20,520 per person for local authorities who resettle Afghan families, with an additional £17 million available for housing costs and an extra £20 million pot of flexible funding. Local councils and health partners who resettle families will receive up to £4,500 per child for education, £850 to cover English language provision for adults requiring this support, and £2,600 to cover healthcare.
I would like to reassure you that this new scheme is separate from, and in addition to, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which offers any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life priority relocation to the UK. Around 9,000 people alone have already been helped by this scheme.