Following the collapse of the Afghan government the Government
has announced that additional healthcare provision, access to
COVID-19 vaccinations and funding for housing will be provided to
support eligible Afghans coming to the UK via the Afghanistan
Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.
Under the ARAP scheme, launched on 01 April 2021, any current or
former Locally Employed Staff who worked in Afghanistan for the UK
Embassy assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are
offered priority relocation to the UK regardless of their
employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.
The government has set out its ambition for the new Afghanistan
Citizens' Resettlement Scheme to resettle 5,000 Afghan nationals in
its first year, with priority given to those most in need due to
the current crisis. The Government say the resettlement scheme will
be kept under further review for future years, with up to a total
of 20,000 people potentially eligible in the long-term.
On the 20 August the Government announced that Councils in
England, Scotland and Wales will have access to a share of £5
million under what is titled the Afghan LES (Locally Employed
Staff) Housing Costs Fund to help them provide the necessary
housing and support to Afghans who have worked for this country in
Afghanistan, but who now face threats of persecution or worse.
The Government say that the fund will provide a top up to help
councils meet the costs of renting properties for those that need
it, including larger homes for families and will help encourage
councils to make a firm offer of support to take people into their
communities and help them build a new life.
Making the announcement Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick
said:
"There is already an enormous effort underway to support those
arriving from Afghanistan with close to a third of councils already
stepping up to support new arrivals.
However, we urgently need more offers of support to welcome
Afghan families who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the UK,
serving our troops and our country so bravely in recent years.
With this extra support in place, I'm calling on all councils
who have not yet come forward, to contact us with a firm offer of
support to help our Afghan friends and their families as they build
a new life in safety here."
At this stage it is not known how many councils are likely to
apply for funding.
The Government have also opened a special portal to allow the government to
collect and process offers of housing support for people arriving
from Afghanistan, where those offers are for entire homes and from
property owners, organisations or companies. This information is
being collected to help prioritise offers to follow up and discuss
further and does not need to be final or definitive.