To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister (i) what discussions their Department has had with UK Government counterparts regarding the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme; (ii) what estimate their Department has made of the proportion of the 20,000 refugees under the resettlement scheme will provided protection in Northern Ireland.

We were distressed by the harrowing scenes from Afghanistan.

Just as for the Syrian Refugees, we want to play our part in responding to this humanitarian crisis and the Executive united in a commitment to do so at its meeting on 6 September.

We have, in conjunction with the administrations in Scotland and Wales, met with the UK Government and have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally committing to resettle citizens under both the ‘Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy’ and the ‘Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme’.

We have agreed that, in line with our population proportion, we are willing to receive 3% of those Afghan citizens being relocated and resettled in the UK. This means the Executive has pledged to welcome 840 vulnerable citizens to make their home here, with some 360 being resettled in the course of the next year. The Strategic Planning Group is working to make preparations to support arrivals and we hope to be able to welcome a first cohort of Afghan families early next year, subject to matching families to the available accommodation and the availability of flights.