MP: ACRS has not got one person out of Afghanistan this year
Yesterday Mr Speaker granted John Baron MP an Urgent Question on the plight of the British Council contractors, about 200 of whom remain stuck in Afghanistan in fear of their lives. A bureaucratic blockage with the Government is holding up the processing of their applications under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which John asked the Government to clear in order to get these people out of danger as soon as possible.
In the Chamber, John said,
“For more than 16 months since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul, about 200 British Council contractors and their families have been stuck in Afghanistan…many of them are in hiding and in fear of their lives, unable to seek medical advice when it is necessary for themselves and their families, and family members have died as a consequence…200 or so contractors remain stuck in Afghanistan because of a blockage of red tape here in the UK. Until that blockage is cleared they will remain in danger, possibly for a second Afghan winter.”
“Since its launch in January, the ACRS scheme has not repatriated a single person from Afghanistan…In July and August, an application window closed for the contractors to submit expressions of interest. British Council employees worked at pace with the FCDO to identify those who had actually worked with them, yet there has still been no progress whatsoever. Having used all the regular channels, I would now like to ask the Minister to do all he can before Christmas to clear these blockages and get these contractors back to the UK.”
The Minister, Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, filled in for the responsible Minister, Leo Docherty MP, who was travelling, and said that John’s words and concerns would be reflected across Government as a result of the Urgent Question.
John said afterwards,
“Not a single person has made it out under the ACRS this year; meanwhile, around 200 British Council contractors and their families face a second Afghan winter in hostile territory. The Government needs to clear the blockage and complete their applications as soon as possible, so we can start the active process of getting them out of Afghanistan.”
Notes to Editors:
- The full transcript of the Urgent Question is online at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-12-12/debates/510F22B3-E9BC-442E-A74F-6D20B4D43932/BritishCouncilContractorsAfghanistan#contribution-FCE34982-B2AF-49EF-8C7B-15BFE77D46D1.
