MP: Government could resolve this quickly
This afternoon the Government responded to a Westminster Hall debate secured by Jim Shannon MP on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). One group of people eligible for ACRS are the 200 British Council contractors, who have been waiting for the Government to facilitate their journeys to Britain since the fall of Kabul in August 2021. John Baron MP, as Chair of the British Council All-Party Parliamentary Group, has been campaigning on their behalf – please see his earlier press release for more information following last week’s debate.
John said,
“The debate this afternoon was an opportunity for the Government to set the record straight after last week’s confusion. Unfortunately, little clarity was received, save that the quotas described by the Minister last week as a ‘measuring tool’ are now confirmed to be an upper limit. This is wrong – there was no talk of quotas when seeking volunteers, or in regard to the extent of their courage.”
“Otherwise, there was no further clarity as to how many of the 200 British Council contractors were being helped – the Minister’s figures given last week suggest around 47 have been given the green light to exit the country, with the remainder still waiting to hear anything. Friends of the British Council in both the Commons and the Lords will continue to press the Government on behalf of the contractors, embassy guards and Chevening scholars who are all eligible for this scheme.”
“Ultimately, this is an issue which the Government could largely solve by processing a few hundred applications. Our Afghan friends have been waiting since August 2021 for this to happen. This is debt of honour and we owe it to them to resolve this bureaucratic blockage as soon as possible.”
