Afghan Special Forces Relocation Review

Thursday 26th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)]

I am pleased today to be able to update the House on the review of Afghan relocations and assistance policy scheme applications from former members of Afghan specialist units, including former members of Commando Force 333 and Afghan Task Force 444, commonly known as the Triples. As this House knows, these Afghans worked alongside UK armed forces in Afghanistan, fighting valiantly, with some dying alongside our troops. It is for this reason I know that former Triples have the support of veterans of the conflict and the British public, as well as Members on both sides of the House.

When in opposition, the Defence Secretary and I, alongside many sitting and former Members of the House, advocated for a review of decisions made on Afghan relocations and assistance policy applications from the Triples. This review was begun under the previous Government, but I am proud to have been able to drive its progression since I took office and ensure that those who we owe so much to are appropriately supported.

Last year, I announced a second and final phase of the Triples review, following the conclusion that, in some cases, evidence of certain top-up payments would also be sufficient to demonstrate a substantive and positive contribution to the UK’s military or national security objectives in Afghanistan due to the nature of the work undertaken by those individuals. This revised approach made it more likely that some individuals from these cohorts previously found ineligible could potentially secure a positive decision.

I believe this second phase was the right thing to do—to ensure we fully analysed and understood all available records that could inform eligibility decisions for the those who may have been impacted. Today I can announce that this review is complete, and over the two phases we have overturned 884 decisions.

I can assure the House that all those who have already had their applications reviewed under phase 1 and 2 of the Triples review and have had a fresh decision made have either been contacted or will be contacted in due course. All decisions made in phases 1 and 2 will still carry a right to have this decision reviewed.

This review has led to improvements in the ARAP casework function, and we have put in place additional resourcing and new processes to continue to drive those improvements. Enhanced training is now in place within the ARAP casework team to better identify organisations that may hold relevant records—and guidance has been amended to reflect this.

The Ministry of Defence is investing in both the systems and the people to improve our digital records management now and in the future, as well as enhancing our capability and approach to interrogating legacy data sets. In co-ordination with the recommendations made in the McIvor review into data protection compliance within the MOD, we have also been implementing a digital records management plan across defence. The journey of improvement is of course a continuous one, and the MOD will continue to build on the learning from this review.

Although I cannot change what happened in the past, I am proud of the work that we have undertaken to conclude this review and deliver on our promise to support eligible Triples who contributed to the UK mission in Afghanistan.

This Government are clear that we intend to conclude the Afghan resettlement programme by the end of this Parliament. The end of the Triples review is an important step towards this. However, there is more to do, and I will update the House shortly on further developments.

[HCWS1486]