The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not hold records on the number of non-government placements and scholarships given to Afghan women. In 2024, the FCDO awarded 13 Chevening scholarships to Afghan nationals to study in the UK. Out of the 13, four awards went to women.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) has brought together the previous Afghan resettlement schemes into a single, efficient pipeline. In order to improve efficiency, value for money and outcomes across Afghan Resettlement.

The latest published statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-september-2024) show that (up to the end of September 2024) we have brought around 33,400 people to safety from Afghanistan and the region.

Afghan operational data is viewable at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and is released quarterly. There is no right of appeal against eligibility decisions made under the ARP.

In 2024/2025, we are providing £161 million for humanitarian and essential services support to the most vulnerable and marginalised Afghans, through trusted non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies. We are committed that at least 50 percent of people reached with UK aid in Afghanistan will be women and girls. Through our contribution to the World Bank led Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF), we have supported a $20 million project of support to Afghanistan civil society. The project has supported NGOs and civil society organisations (CSOs) that improve basic service delivery and promote socio-economic empowerment of women and girls, including 100 women-led organisations.

We do not hold formal data on the number of British nationals in Afghanistan, but we estimate that numbers are likely in the hundreds. The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan. Since April 2021, we have brought around 24,600 people out of Afghanistan, including 4,660 British Nationals and their families during Operation Pitting itself.

UK funded prepositioned supplies supported humanitarian partners in the immediate aftermath of the October earthquake. An additional £1 million was allocated to the Red Cross and £1 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) to help meet emergency needs. A further £1 million has been allocated to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide targeted support to affected women and girls. This support ensured affected communities received emergency shelter, food and health assistance. Overall, $10 million has been allocated from the AHF and $5 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, which the UK supports.

We continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate families as soon as possible.

Afghans in third countries including in Pakistan who are eligible for resettlement to the UK continue to be supported by the UK Government, and flights from Pakistan to the UK continue to take place. However, we are unable to provide further operational details on this.

The UK Government is aware of recent announcements made by the Government of Pakistan regarding Afghans being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.

As the Minister for Veterans Affairs stated in the House on November 8, the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) plan is to relocate approximately 2,800 Afghans eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Resettlement Policy scheme (ARAP) to the UK by the end of December. Of these, 662 have already safely been relocated to the UK.

The MOD oversees ARAP relocations from Pakistan to the UK, working in partnership with other departments. For the separate Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, flights and travel assistance are arranged by the Home Office and its partners, including the International Organization for Migration.

Under the first stage of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3, we are offering resettlement places to up to 1,500 eligible individuals from the three identified cohorts which are British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni.

We recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan and the region. However, it is important we take into account the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.

FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to protect religious and ethnic minorities, including Shia Muslims and Hazara communities. We are working with international partners to ensure credible monitoring to hold to account those responsible for human rights abuses. On 7 October 2022, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution to extend the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate. His recent report to the Human Rights Council included an assessment of the violence and threats against religious minorities and the situation for Hazara communities. On 8 December, the Minister for South Asia, Lord [Tariq] Ahmad of Wimbledon, met representatives from Hazara community groups.

Since the Taliban took control, the marginalisation of religious minorities has increased. Religious minorities are often victims of targeted attacks. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to protect religious minorities. We are working with international partners to ensure credible monitoring to hold those responsible for human rights abuses to account. On 7 October 2022, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution to extend the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate. His recent report to the Human Rights Council included an assessment of the violence and threats against religious minorities.

Following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan an estimated 300,000 Afghans arrived in Pakistan. The UK has provided £6.5 million to support refugee preparedness in Pakistan through the World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, supporting communities hosting refugees to provide health services and additional nutritional support. The UK supports the Government of Pakistan to support refugees and encourages the inclusion of refugees in services provided to the wider population.

The UK responded quickly to the earthquake that struck Afghanistan on 22 June, disbursing £2.5 million in full to the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Red Cross to provide life-saving shelter, medication, water and sanitation assistance to affected communities. The delivery of life-saving assistance through this funding is contributing to a collective response which has reached 138,000 people to date.

In August, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would double its assistance for Afghanistan to £286 million this financial year. This will support over 6.1 million people with life-saving aid. Since April, we have disbursed over £261 million and we are working at pace to allocate the remaining funding. On 31 March, the UK with the UN and Germany will host a pledging conference on Afghanistan to raise funds to scale up essential humanitarian support for the people of Afghanistan.

We are working with the international community to ensure a coordinated approach to Afghanistan - through the UN Security Council, the G20 and G7, and our engagement with countries in the region. The UK government continues to work closely with the UN and NGOs to ensure that UK aid benefits Afghans in need. In addition, the UK is playing a leading role in the international efforts to address the causes of the economic crisis in Afghanistan by working with the World Bank, UN and US to find ways for humanitarian agencies to access currency; and supporting the World Bank to unlock existing funds within the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to help the Afghan people.

The Government is committed to protecting the rights of minority faith communities in Afghanistan. FCDO officials regularly raise human rights, including rights of members of minority groups, in discussions with the Taliban. On 15 December 2021, the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, the Minister for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Lord Herbert of South Downs held a roundtable with NGOs to discuss the ongoing challenges faced by vulnerable groups, including religious minorities.