Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are prioritising Afghan asylum seekers who are (1) women, (2) children, and (3) deemed to be especially vulnerable; and if so, what processes they are using to identify these people.

Through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) the UK will relocate up to 20,000 people at risk, including women and girls and minority groups, so they can rebuild their lives in safety.

On 13^th September, further details on this scheme were set out in a statement made in the House of Commons and published on gov.uk. Through these statements, the Government confirmed that the ACRS will prioritise those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for the values we share such as democracy, women’s rights and freedom of speech and the rule of law, as well as other vulnerable people, including women, girls and members of minority groups at risk (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBT+).

To help identify those most at risk and vulnerable, the government will work closely with the UN’s Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to identify and resettle refugees who have fled Afghanistan based on their protection and humanitarian need. The government will also work with international partners and NGOs in the region to implement a referral process for people inside Afghanistan, where safe passage can be arranged, and for those that have recently fled to other countries in the region.