To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Minister is responsible for the resettlement and housing of Afghan citizens currently living in hotels in Pakistan under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timeline is for completing the resettlement and housing of Afghan citizens who are currently housed in hotels in Pakistan under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme scheme.

Responsibility for this area is shared across Departments. Within the Home Office I lead on resettlement as Minister for Immigration.

As of June 2023, we have relocated over c.12,200 people under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Scheme (ARAP) initiative, while over 11,500 people have been granted settled status, since the scheme launched in April 2021.

It is vital that those arriving have somewhere suitable to stay once they are in the UK. We are developing plans across government to support the remainder of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and ARAP cohorts into settled accommodation in the UK.

We will only facilitate ARAP third country arrivals where suitable accommodation can be secured ahead of arrival, including where individuals can be supported to arrange accommodation themselves.

We continue to work at pace with Local Authorities and other partners to source suitable accommodation, in order to be able to welcome more eligible Afghans.

We know there is still a way to go to bring those eligible to safety in the UK, but we remain committed to continuing to welcome eligible Afghans to the UK through our schemes.