We call on the Taliban to respect the rights of women and girls, including the right to education, and condemn any ongoing restrictions. I will raise the hon. Member’s question with the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Falconer), who is travelling, and ensure that she gets a full written answer.

I understand that the FCDO sent representatives to Afghanistan to meet women’s organisations a few weeks ago, so may I seek assurances about the safety of those women’s organisations going forward, and ask for a written statement on the outcomes and context of that meeting?

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) is delivered through close cross-government collaboration, with the Home Office working alongside the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as local authorities and strategic partners.

ARP governance is under continuous review to support its effective operational delivery. This includes ongoing work to refine programme plans and key performance indicators. Work is also underway to strengthen cross-government management information, including improvements to data sharing and reporting, to support consistent oversight and decision-making.

We continue to assess the challenges associated with relocating eligible individuals and supporting their move from transitional accommodation (TA) into settled accommodation. These include housing availability, local authority capacity, and access to employment and public services. The government works closely with partners to address these issues through funding, operational support and engagement with the housing sector. The impact of the nine-month limit for transitional accommodation is kept under review, with support provided to help families secure settled homes.

Engagement with delivery partners and service users informs improvements across accommodation, integration support and programme coordination, and these lessons are helping shape future resettlement schemes.

There are also positive examples of integration, including progress in employment, education, English language and community participation, with many families successfully rebuilding their lives in the UK.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) is delivered through close cross-government collaboration, with the Home Office working alongside the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as local authorities and strategic partners.

ARP governance is under continuous review to support its effective operational delivery. This includes ongoing work to refine programme plans and key performance indicators. Work is also underway to strengthen cross-government management information, including improvements to data sharing and reporting, to support consistent oversight and decision-making.

We continue to assess the challenges associated with relocating eligible individuals and supporting their move from transitional accommodation (TA) into settled accommodation. These include housing availability, local authority capacity, and access to employment and public services. The government works closely with partners to address these issues through funding, operational support and engagement with the housing sector. The impact of the nine-month limit for transitional accommodation is kept under review, with support provided to help families secure settled homes.

Engagement with delivery partners and service users informs improvements across accommodation, integration support and programme coordination, and these lessons are helping shape future resettlement schemes.

There are also positive examples of integration, including progress in employment, education, English language and community participation, with many families successfully rebuilding their lives in the UK.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) is delivered through close cross-government collaboration, with the Home Office working alongside the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as local authorities and strategic partners.

ARP governance is under continuous review to support its effective operational delivery. This includes ongoing work to refine programme plans and key performance indicators. Work is also underway to strengthen cross-government management information, including improvements to data sharing and reporting, to support consistent oversight and decision-making.

We continue to assess the challenges associated with relocating eligible individuals and supporting their move from transitional accommodation (TA) into settled accommodation. These include housing availability, local authority capacity, and access to employment and public services. The government works closely with partners to address these issues through funding, operational support and engagement with the housing sector. The impact of the nine-month limit for transitional accommodation is kept under review, with support provided to help families secure settled homes.

Engagement with delivery partners and service users informs improvements across accommodation, integration support and programme coordination, and these lessons are helping shape future resettlement schemes.

There are also positive examples of integration, including progress in employment, education, English language and community participation, with many families successfully rebuilding their lives in the UK.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) is delivered through close cross-government collaboration, with the Home Office working alongside the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as local authorities and strategic partners.

ARP governance is under continuous review to support its effective operational delivery. This includes ongoing work to refine programme plans and key performance indicators. Work is also underway to strengthen cross-government management information, including improvements to data sharing and reporting, to support consistent oversight and decision-making.

We continue to assess the challenges associated with relocating eligible individuals and supporting their move from transitional accommodation (TA) into settled accommodation. These include housing availability, local authority capacity, and access to employment and public services. The government works closely with partners to address these issues through funding, operational support and engagement with the housing sector. The impact of the nine-month limit for transitional accommodation is kept under review, with support provided to help families secure settled homes.

Engagement with delivery partners and service users informs improvements across accommodation, integration support and programme coordination, and these lessons are helping shape future resettlement schemes.

There are also positive examples of integration, including progress in employment, education, English language and community participation, with many families successfully rebuilding their lives in the UK.

The Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) is delivered through close cross-government collaboration, with the Home Office working alongside the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as local authorities and strategic partners.

ARP governance is under continuous review to support its effective operational delivery. This includes ongoing work to refine programme plans and key performance indicators. Work is also underway to strengthen cross-government management information, including improvements to data sharing and reporting, to support consistent oversight and decision-making.

We continue to assess the challenges associated with relocating eligible individuals and supporting their move from transitional accommodation (TA) into settled accommodation. These include housing availability, local authority capacity, and access to employment and public services. The government works closely with partners to address these issues through funding, operational support and engagement with the housing sector. The impact of the nine-month limit for transitional accommodation is kept under review, with support provided to help families secure settled homes.

Engagement with delivery partners and service users informs improvements across accommodation, integration support and programme coordination, and these lessons are helping shape future resettlement schemes.

There are also positive examples of integration, including progress in employment, education, English language and community participation, with many families successfully rebuilding their lives in the UK.

Afghanistan is a focus country for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's strategy on freedom of religion or belief, announced in July 2025, and officials regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans. We work with international partners to maintain collective pressure on the Taliban to reverse their oppressive restrictions, including new criminal court procedures. We continue to support the United Nations Special Rapporteur and his mandate to document human rights abuses in Afghanistan. Human rights and basic freedoms are not only a moral imperative but also essential for building a stable, inclusive and prosperous country for all Afghans. Without inclusive governance that reflects Afghanistan's religious, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity, we will never see an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.

The Afghan schemes were never intended to operate indefinitely. On 1 July 2025, the Government announced the closure of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy to new principal applications, and the closure of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme. On 4 July 2025, the Government agreed the discontinuation of the Afghanistan Response Route, which was announced on 15 July 2025.

We remain fully committed to honouring our existing commitments to all those individuals found eligible under the Afghan schemes.

In November 2025, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes in its Restoring Order and Control statement. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme and capped routes for refugee and displaced people to come to the UK to study or for work. Work is underway to deliver these new routes and further details will be set out in due course.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 April in response to Question 129787.

In the Restoring Order and Control statement, published in November 2025, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme and capped routes for refugee and displaced people to come to the UK to study or for work.

The Home Secretary announced in March that the refugee student route will open this autumn, with arrivals in autumn 2027.

Work is underway to deliver the new routes and further details will be set out in due course.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum claims and grants, broken down by nationality, age, and sex, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum claims and grants, broken down by nationality, age, and sex, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’.

The United Nations currently assesses that 22 million people require humanitarian support in Afghanistan. The UK continues to make one of the largest contributions to meeting those needs, allocating £154 million in 2025/26 for life-saving assistance and essential services, after providing over 2.7 million people with humanitarian support in 2024/25, including over 1.7 million women and girls.

Alongside our international partners, we also continue to seek a resolution of issues that are exacerbating economic hardship and humanitarian needs in Afghanistan, including the restriction of supplies caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the recent increase in hostilities between Pakistan and the Taliban.

On the former, the UK, along with France and representatives from 38 other nations, confirmed our political support on 12 May for an independent and strictly defensive multinational military mission to support civilian shipping through the Strait.

On the latter, we continue to engage international and regional partners to encourage de-escalation, and we are working closely with UK aid partners, including the United Nations and Red Cross, to ensure that humanitarian assistance is reaching vulnerable communities affected by the conflict, including the estimated 100,000 people who have so far been displaced from their homes.

On all issues, our priority will remain to support regional stability and the protection of civilians, including the wellbeing of women and children in Afghanistan.