Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which month were the applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme being processed as of 18 February 2022 submitted.

As of 18 February 2022, over 110,000 applications have been received; many of which are found to be incomplete or duplications. We do not record metrics for the processing times of applications, and any number of factors can affect how long it takes for an applicant to progress through each stage of the process. For example: their location, access to IT, employment history verification, security checks, or family circumstances.

We continue to devote significant resources to this task; a dedicated team of caseworkers work seven days a week to process pending applications. To date, their efforts have resulted in the relocation to the UK of over 8,000 eligible applicants and dependants.