Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reassess unsuccessful applications for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy from individual members of the Afghan Territorial Force 444 and Commando Force 333 in the light of continued evidence of vulnerability to violent reprisals from the Taliban against them and their families.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All unsuccessful ARAP applicants, including those made by former members of the Afghan Armed Forces such as Afghan Territorial Force 444 and Commando Force 333, have the right to request a review within 90 days of receipt of their outcome letter.
We continue to prioritise finding remaining eligible applicants and relocating them as quickly as we can. As of 28 November 2023, we have relocated 13,300 individuals and family members since the scheme began.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many members of the Afghan Territorial Force 444 and Commando Force 333 have (1) qualified for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, and (2) been told they are ineligible under that policy.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As of 28 November, we have relocated 13,300 ARAP Eligible Principals (EPs) and their family members to safety in the UK under the ARAP scheme and have approximately 6,000 eligible persons and family members remaining to relocate to the UK. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific unit.
Not all former members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as Afghan Territorial Force 444 and Commando Force 333, will automatically be eligible for ARAP. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis on its own merits and in line with published policy. We are prioritising finding remaining eligible applicants and relocating them as quickly as we can.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters who worked with the British armed forces in Afghanistan have to date been relocated to the UK under (1) ARAP, (2) the Intimidation Policy, (3) the Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme, and (4) any other relevant scheme; and in each case how many were relocated (a) directly from Afghanistan, and (b) from a third country.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme we have so far relocated an estimated 12,200 individuals - principal applicants and their family members - to the UK.
We have relocated an estimated 526 principal applicants under the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS) and four principal applicants under the Intimidation Policy (IIU). Due to data constraints, we are currently unable to provide figures for Ex Gratia and Intimidation Policy principals' family members.
We are also unable to break down figures for ARAP, EGS or IIU by job role and due to operational sensitivities, we cannot provide the requested information on locations.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters who worked with the British armed forces in Afghanistan who have applied to be relocated to the UK under (1) ARAP, (2) the Intimidation Policy, (3) the Locally Employed Staff Ex-Gratia Scheme and (4) any other relevant scheme are awaiting security clearance before travelling; and in each case how many have applied (a) directly from Afghanistan and (b) from a third country.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We estimate that there are approximately 4,300 individuals (principal applicants plus family members) left to relocate to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
In addition, we are supporting four individuals eligible under the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS) who are still actively wishing to take up their EGS offer to relocate to the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters have received security clearance for relocation to the UK but have not yet been able to travel; and when those people are expected to travel.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 15 June 136, ARAP principals who have passed UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) checks are currently waiting relocation to the UK from third countries.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters have applied for relocation to the UK and are awaiting security clearance.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 15 June 2022, 163 ARAP principals who have received offer letters are awaiting the completion of UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) checks in advance of travel to the UK.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters are still eligible for relocation to the UK; and under which schemes.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 15 June 2022, there are approximately 792 ARAP principals who have been confirmed as being eligible for relocation but have not yet arrived in the UK.
Category 2 of the ARAP scheme requires eligible persons to have been directly employed by HMG or contracted to provide linguistic services in support of the UK's Armed Forces, on or after 1 October 2001. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the total figure by job role.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan interpreters have been relocated to the UK to date (1) from Afghanistan, and (2) from a third country.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As of 15 of June 2022, a total of 1,138 ARAP principals have been relocated to the UK from Afghanistan or a third country since the end of Op PITTING.
Category 2 of the ARAP scheme requires eligible persons to have been directly employed by HMG or contracted to provide linguistic services in support of the UK's Armed Forces, on or after 1 October 2001. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the total figure by job role.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many family members of Afghan interpreters (1) have been relocated to the UK, and (2) are awaiting relocation to the UK having received security clearance.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Since the ARAP schemed opened in April 2021, Defence has relocated over 9,500 ARAP eligible people to the UK, of this over 4,000 have been family members and other dependants.
As of 15 June, 136 ARAP principals who have passed UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) checks are awaiting relocation to the UK from third countries. We cannot provide the number of ARAP dependants who have passed UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) checks and are awaiting relocation.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British nationals who are Russian speakers were employed in each of the last five years by the Armed Forces.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The table below shows a count of British national Service personnel recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) MI System as holding a Russian language competence during their service in each of the last five years. This information was extracted from the JPA MI System on 2 February 2022.
Type | Calendar Year | ||||
Assignment Type | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Regular | 200 | 220 | 230 | 160 | 160 |
Reserve | 100 | 110 | 100 | 50 | 60 |
Grand Total | 300 | 320 | 320 | 210 | 220 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias. Totals have been rounded independently and may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.