Dr Julian Lewis:  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to assist Afghan scholars who have been validated by the Council for At-Risk Academics to take up their sponsored posts offered by universities in the UK  [903337]

[Due for Answer on 6 September. Converted from Oral Questions.] 

ANSWER 

The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson): The government is committed to providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing Afghanistan, including Afghan students and scholars. In its first year, the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme will welcome up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK, who have been forced to flee the country, with up to a total of 20,000 in the long-term. Further details will be announced in due course.