Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an estimate of the number of refugees relocated to Rwanda via resettlement schemes from other countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In October 2023, Rwanda hosted 135,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Rwanda hosts the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM), which facilitates the temporary evacuation of refugees and asylum-seekers from Libya. By September 2023, 1,737 refugees and asylum seekers had arrived in Rwanda under the ETM. Once in Rwanda, the UNHCR registers and verifies the refugees and asylum seekers and determines their refugee status. Rwanda currently hosts 698 refugees and asylum seekers under this scheme, pending resettlement in third countries. They also have the option of returning to their home countries or staying and integrating in Rwanda, although no refugees have chosen this so far.
We are also aware from open source reporting of refugees from Afghanistan and Sudan who have successfully resettled in Rwanda, including:
a) The entire student body of the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), a girls' boarding school which relocated from Kabul to Rwanda after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Nearly 250 members of the SOLA community, including all 100 students, arrived in Rwanda. More Afghan students continue to arrive and live/stay at the school in Rwanda each year.
b) Sudan's University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST) relocated to Rwanda because of civil war in its home country. The UMST plans to transfer over 7,000 students to Rwanda. So far, 280 students have arrived in Kigali, been granted student visas, and are continuing their studies.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Westminster Hall debate on Safe Asylum Routes: Afghan Refugees on 17 October 2023, whether unaccompanied children who came to the UK through the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme 1 will be able to sponsor family members who are still in (a) Afghanistan and (b) a third country, to resettle in the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Westminster Hall debate on Safe Asylum Routes: Afghan Refugees on 17th October 2023, whether she has made an estimate of the number of additional caseworkers required to ensure all Afghan people who have come to the UK through the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme 1 can be reunited with family members eligible for family reunion in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government is committed to ensuring operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
We also remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. The situation in the region is complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on access to the asylum system for Afghan people.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There has not been an explicit assessment on the impact this has on people of Afghanistan; however, impact assessments regarding the Illegal Migration Act have been published on GOV. UK under Illegal Migration Bill: overarching documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Government of Pakistan following the announcement of the return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is monitoring the Government of Pakistan's policy on the deportation of undocumented migrants, recognising that every country has the sovereign right to manage their borders. The former Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, discussed this with Caretaker Prime Minister Kakar and Caretaker Foreign Minister Jilani and received assurances towards the safety of Afghans who are eligible for UK resettlement under the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) and ACRS (Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme) schemes. We encourage Pakistan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and provide opportunities for refugees to register for asylum. The UK has committed £16 million to the International Organization for Migration in Afghanistan to support undocumented returnees.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of 17 October 2023 by the Minister for Immigration on safe asylum routes for Afghan refugees, Official Report, Column 54WH, how many and what proportion of people who submitted an Expression of Interest in resettlement to the UK under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and have been assessed by his Department as eligible in principle for resettlement under that pathway are located in (a) Afghanistan and (b) a third country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Given the sensitivity of the security checks element of the process, we are unable to give precise numbers of individuals at each stage of the process. This is a dynamic picture, which changes daily. It would not be helpful for those in Afghanistan for us to give a running commentary on numbers, which could draw attention to those preparing to cross the border.
As of 19 October, there are circa 910 eligible individuals under ACRS Pathway 3 being supported in third countries.
Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he made of the implications for his policies of the debate on the report entitled The humanitarian crisis emerging for Afghanistan and Afghan refugees, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 13 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The debate rightly shined a spotlight on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the need for international action. The UK continues to support the people of Afghanistan and coordinate with European and other partners. Afghanistan remains one of FCDO's largest bilateral aid programmes this financial year at £100 million. Since April 2021, the UK has disbursed over £593 million in aid to Afghanistan. This includes £17 million to support humanitarian organisations in Afghanistan's neighbouring countries. This has assisted Afghan migrants and asylum seekers moving across borders, and refugee and host communities in those countries. We continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the announcement by Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti on 3 October 2023 that Afghan asylum seekers must leave the country by the end of November 2023, if she will make it her policy to issue UK visas before that date to all Afghan citizens in Pakistan who are eligible to come to the UK and who are waiting for a decision from her Department under (a) the Afghan Citizen's Resettlement Scheme and (b) family reunion rules; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Supporting the resettlement of individuals eligible under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) remains a priority for HMG, and we are issuing new visas to people from Afghanistan for settlement here.
We recognise the difficult situation that many individuals find themselves in. We continue to work, including with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues and to support safe passages for eligible Afghans.
To date we have brought around 24,600 people affected by events in Afghanistan to safety. This includes those evacuated under Operation Pitting and those resettled and relocated under the ACRS and Afghans Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The ACRS is one of the most ambitious resettlement schemes in our countries history and provides those affected by events in Afghanistan with a safe and legal route to the UK.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help support (a) homeless people and (b) refugees obtain a bank account.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to improving access to financial services and recognises that access to a transactional bank account is key to enabling people to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently. That is why the Payment Account Regulations 2015 require the largest UK banking providers to provide fee-free Basic Bank Accounts to anyone who doesn’t already have a current account
These regulations explicitly include consumers with no fixed address and asylum seekers. Firms will still need to carry out checks to verify consumers’ identities when they first open an account but are encouraged to be flexible regarding the types of documents they will accept, such as a referral letter from a homeless shelter.
The Government has also worked with the financial services industry to provide guidance to support firms to open basic bank accounts to refugees coming to the UK from specific countries, such as arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine. To date, over 75,000 basic bank accounts have been opened by Ukrainian nationals arriving in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Green of Deddington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Immigration on 8 June (HCWS837), how many asylum applications there have been since 28 June 2022 from nationals of (1) Afghanistan, (2) Eritrea, (3) Libya, (4) Syria, (5) Yemen, and (6) Sudan, together with the number of accompanying dependants of each nationality.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK. Data on asylum applications by nationality and applicant type are published in table Asy_D01 of the Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: found here. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.UK.