Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain leads cross party call to support Afghans

MPs and Lords from across the aisle have supported Chamberlain’s letter to the Home Office urging them to ensure safe and fast relocation for eligible Afghan refugees, as well as clear processes for family reunion.

The letter urges the Government to act on three key asks:

1. Ensure adequate resourcing of ACRS for the swift relocation of eligible Afghans. This includesensuring the Scheme is adequately resourced and managed for the scale and urgency of the need, allowing decisions, relocations, and resettlements to be made in a timely and expedited manner.
2. Review the biometrics and unsafe guidance policies to enable eligible Afghans to access biometric deferral / excuse in practice, thus overcoming barriers and delays to meeting these requirements in the region.
3. Open the ACRS 1 family reunion referral mechanism promptly, provide timely and clear guidance on process for those applying, and sufficiently resource the mechanism to ensure the swift relocation of eligible family members to the UK.

Wendy Chamberlain, who is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Afghan Women and Girls said:

“Afghans need our protection now, and the UK must uphold its’ pledges to make sure of this. No one deserves to live in constant fear and families can’t go on being separated, not knowing when they will see each other again.

“It is vital that the Government takes immediate action, given Pakistan has begun deportations of Afghans back to their homeland and their fate under the Taliban.

“I hope this letter urges the Government to review guidance policies which are not working, make ACRS relocation happen quickly, and start reuniting families.”