Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications his Department has received for the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy scheme; how many applicants to that scheme have (a) been excluded from the UK relocation option, (b) been accepted for relocation to the UK under category (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) four and (c) not yet been informed of a decision on their application; and how many of those accepted, rejected or pending were terminated from their employment.

We have significantly accelerated the pace of relocations under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) in line with the military drawdown. Since 1 June 572 people, former Afghan locally employed staff and their families, have been relocated to the UK. The MOD is working with the Home Office and a range of Government departments to ensure their successful resettlement.

This now takes the total number of people from Afghanistan relocated to the UK under the ARAP and the previous Ex-Gratia Policy to nearly 2,000.

Unfortunately for operational security reasons we cannot at this time comment on specific numbers of applications.

Our commitment to those who are eligible under the ARAP, and the process to deliver it, is not time-limited and will endure beyond the military presence in Afghanistan.