Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that staff and volunteers working for or with UK NGOs in Afghanistan will be supported to leave Afghanistan and enter the UK.

In addition to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the existing Ex Gratia Scheme (EGS), which offer resettlement for Afghan staff who have assisted the UK government, and their families, we are also setting up the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). This scheme will welcome up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans over the next year and up to a total of 20,000 over four years. We will work with the UN to facilitate that process and set out more details in due course.