The Afghan Citizens Settlement Scheme

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 12 January 2022.

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Photo of Natasha Asghar Natasha Asghar Conservative 2:11, 12 January 2022

Minister, the Afghan citizen resettlement scheme will provide up to 20,000 Afghan women, children and others most at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. It will build on the UK's continuing efforts to support those at-risk Afghan citizens, prioritising those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for our values, and those extremely vulnerable people, such as women and girls at risk and members of minority groups.

I know that you stand for this very strongly and I agree with you that Wales needs to play its part in this operation to help these people secure permanent homes and rebuild their lives in the UK, and I know that you have mentioned on a few occasions that Wales is a nation of sanctuary. So, can I ask, Minister, what discussions have you had—I know you mentioned this in an earlier response to my learned colleague Rhianon Passmore—what conversations specifically have you had with ministerial colleagues, your partners in local government, the private sector and voluntary sector to overcome the hurdles you mentioned in your response previously to Rhianon, to ensure that those coming to Wales obtain the housing, education, training and employment opportunities they need to allow them to rebuild their lives, and to repay the debt that we owe them?

You also mentioned the Afghan resettlement fund. Can you please elaborate on what key performance indicators are going to be in place to ensure they actually will prove to be helpful to those wishing to resettle? Thank you so much.