Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Afzal Khan and Victoria Atkins

Tuesday 9th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

Just to clarify, I was being respectful of not just this House, but the right of the other House to scrutinise legislation. I hope the right hon. Member would agree with that, as the fine parliamentarian that I know he is. On business certainty, through this legislation, and also importantly through the measures we are setting out through the Windsor framework and the arrangements at borders, we are seeking to give businesses exactly the certainty they need after Brexit. We all accept that leaving the European Union and the single market was a generational change—a seismic change in how we wish to do business—but unlike the Opposition, we believe in Brexit and the opportunities it can provide our businesses, and that is why we are taking these measures through carefully and considerately with businesses.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending.

Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme

Debate between Afzal Khan and Victoria Atkins

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

Very much so. Of course my hon. Friend knows that, in addition to the ACRS, we also have the ARAP scheme on which MOD officials and armed forces personnel continue to work very tightly. Although we have set the limit at up to 20,000 under the ACRS, the ARAP scheme sits alongside it and has no such limit. International comparisons are difficult, but the equivalent figure for the United States, for example, would be over 100,000 and we do not believe that any other country, thus far, will exceed 10,000. We believe we can be proud of what we have achieved, but we very much recognise that there is a lot of hard work ahead of us to ensure that people who are evacuated to the United Kingdom are given the warm welcome we have rightly promised.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is worsening by the day. Huge numbers of people do not know where their next meal will come from as they endure harsh winter conditions, and Islamic Relief is one of the few organisations working on the ground to provide emergency relief. Despite this, eligibility for ARAP was narrowed by the Home Office in December. The Government have a moral responsibility and duty to protect all vulnerable Afghans. Will the Minister now reverse that decision?

[Victoria Atkins]

May I take this opportunity to thank not just the hon. Gentleman but his local councils in Manchester, which have done a great job of looking after people in bridging accommodation? I know the councils also want to take people permanently.

On ARAP, I believe the Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (James Heappey), used the phrase “necessary housekeeping.” We had to clarify the rules and eligibility criteria to remove uncertainty on who qualifies. By making it clearer for those who think they might be eligible, there will be more consistent decision making. Spouses and partners, along with children under the age of 18, will qualify as ARAP dependants under the immigration rules and will be eligible for relocation if the lead applicant is successful.

Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme

Debate between Afzal Khan and Victoria Atkins

Monday 25th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

As I would say to any other Member of this House, if a request for a meeting has not been acted on, please speak to me at any time, because I will ensure that it happens. I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, but I have to say that I do not recall having that conversation with him; however, I will certainly act on what he says now.

As for the timeframe, the Ministry of Defence has been evacuating ARAP translators since, I think, 2014. It is right that we put even more energy into that effort from April this year, but as I have said, Operation Pitting was the largest evacuation in living memory. We are proud of the efforts of the military and everyone else involved in it, and we now want to ensure that the work that they did in Kabul is met with a warm welcome here in the United Kingdom.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

We are two months on from the crisis, but many Afghans still have no certainty about their future. Amnesty has accused the Government of moving “at a snail’s pace” in their efforts to assist at-risk Afghans. I want to request two things of the Minister. The first, which a number of colleagues have already touched on, relates to the unaccompanied children in Doha. There are some 200 of them. America, Canada and other countries are dealing with this, but there are 15 children there who have connections with Britain. Can they be looked at urgently? Secondly, there are many family members who are stuck because they are children or husbands who are British citizens, but the wife is not. This also needs to be dealt with urgently, and the family route needs clarification.

[Victoria Atkins]

On the matter of unaccompanied children in Doha, we have to ensure that the family members who have been put forward are who they claim to be, or who people have claimed them to be. We also have to ensure that they are able to take the child or children and look after them. This is taking a bit of time, and it is very much being done from a place of wanting to ensure the safety of those children once they are in the United Kingdom. As I say, we are very much working on this. In relation to the hon. Gentleman’s other comments, I do not feel that I can add anything to what I have already said.

Afghanistan Policy

Debate between Afzal Khan and Victoria Atkins

Monday 13th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

We are setting out safe and legal routes for Afghans who need to be resettled. As the hon. Member will know, other countries across Europe through which people are making their journeys are safe countries, and we would strongly encourage people making their way into safe countries in Europe and elsewhere to apply for asylum in those countries. The resettlement schemes are about helping people in region, and we very much hope to help the numbers that we have talked about.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Last month, my constituent Mr Kamal contacted me as he was concerned for the welfare of his wife and four daughters in Afghanistan. His wife is an Afghan national, while all four of their children—aged seven, six, three and just four months—are British citizens. He, like any father, is desperately worried about his family, yet, despite my representations to the Home Office, I have received no response at all. What advice can the Minister provide to Mr Kamal and his family? Will she assure me that I will get a substantive answer by the end of the week?

[Victoria Atkins]

The hon. Gentleman describes an incredibly difficult case. If Mr Kamal’s family are in Afghanistan, I cannot give him a specific update on their safety and whereabouts, but I am happy to discuss the case with him after the statement because I want to see if we can do anything more.