Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons for whom the British armed forces had a duty of care have been admitted to the UK for settlement in each year since 2001; and what sums of compensation have been paid for resettlement in other countries in that same period.

Earl Howe

I am responding with figures relating to Iraqi and Afghan civilian personnel employed by HM Armed Forces and admitted for settlement to the UK. Admissions date from 2008 and have taken place under ex gratia arrangements rather than on the basis of a duty of care.

A total of 1,323 Iraqi civilians have been relocated to the UK since the locally engaged staff (LES) assistance scheme was announced in 2007. This total comprises 367 former locally engaged staff and 956 dependants.

Nearly 500 Afghan former LES are eligible to apply for relocation to the UK with their immediate families under the Afghan LES Ex Gratia Redundancy scheme, which was announced on 4 June 2013. 573 people, comprising 249 locally engaged staff and 324 dependants, have relocated to the UK up to the end of January 2016.

*as at 31 January 2016

A number of Iraqi and Afghan former LES will have claimed asylum after entering the UK outside of the ex gratia arrangements; however, the relevant data is not held centrally.

We are not aware that any payments have been made for the resettlement of Iraqi or Afghan civilians to other countries.