MP thanks Government at PMQs
Yesterday at PMQs, John Baron MP thanked the Government for its change in policy regarding on how quickly those British Council contractors still in Afghanistan could be processed when applying to the Afghanistan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) (Pathway 3). After a campaign which has involved Urgent Questions, previous PMQs, meetings with Ministers, WPQs etc, the change in policy was confirmed in conversations late on Tuesday with Lord Ahmad, the Minister for Refugees.
At PMQs yesterday, John said:
“Having spoken to Lord Ahmad yesterday, I thank the Government for listening and now allowing high-risk British Council contractors still in Afghanistan to be processed immediately on their application to the citizen resettlement scheme, rather than having to wait a further two months until the application window closes.”
John said afterwards:
“This change in Government policy will come as a huge relief to the 180 or so British Council contractors still in Afghanistan ten months after the fall of Kabul and Operation Pitting, who are in fear of their lives as they are hunted by the Taliban.”
“It was simply unacceptable that these people, who had been helping this country in promoting values such as equality for women, would have to wait until August for the application window to close before their applications could be processed.”
Notes to Editors:
For further background information, please refer to John’s Press Release ‘John Baron MP secures Urgent Question on British Council contractors in Afghanistan’ (23rd June 2022).
