Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are assisting the government of Afghanistan and UN agencies to register returnees from Pakistan who remain internally displaced, but receive no benefits or transport to places of registration.

We are extremely concerned about the situation for returning refugees, undocumented Afghans and internally displaced people in Afghanistan. Our assistance is based on need and supports the United Nations-led Humanitarian Response Plan in Afghanistan. In 2016 and 2017 the UK provided urgent additional funding to UNHCR to ensure refugees were provided with immediate assistance upon return, including to cover immediate food, shelter and transport costs. In 2018 there have been fewer returns from Pakistan compared to previous years, so the focus of our assistance has changed. In 2018 UK aid will provide humanitarian assistance for up to two million Afghan people. This includes lifesaving food, access to water, shelter, nutrition, healthcare and demining activities. It will also support people who have been displaced for a long time to integrate sustainably into local communities. As recently announced at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, we have increased our funding for the humanitarian response to £67 million this year. We continue to press others to do more.