Courageous interpreters who helped British troops during the conflict in Afghanistan will be welcomed to a new life in England by Sefton Council.
The local authority is due to welcome around 25 Aghan interpreters and family members.
Afghan civilians worked as interpreters for British forces on the frontline in Helmand from May 2006 to December 2014, serving alongside them in extremely dangerous situations.
They were often the eyes and ears of British forces. Their linguistic and cultural expertise enabled the UK to work hand-in-hand with their Afghan partners and local communities while protecting British troops.
The MOD initially set up an Ex-Gratia Scheme in June 2013 to recognise the Government’s huge debt of gratitude for their service. Under the scheme, interpreters could choose to either relocate to the UK, receive five years of training and a monthly stipend, or receive the equivalent of 18 months’ salary.
The Afghan MOD Scheme will see Sefton agree a pledge of around 25 people to be assisted starting this April.
The decision will be taken at Sefton’s Cabinet meeting next Thursday (4 March).
In her report to Cabinet, Sefton Council Head of Communities Tanya Wilcock said: “The Afghan MOD Scheme is aimed at Locally Employed Staff (LES) from Afghanistan who were made redundant following the UK’s military withdrawal.
“Typically these LES acted as interpreters for the British Army and now are viewed as traitors and are being persecuted.
“This is not a refugee resettlement programme. The families coming through the scheme are not refugees and do not arrive with refugee status. They have 5 year leave to remain with the option of applying for indefinite leave to remain at the end of this period.
“This is a redundancy package for their service in Afghanistan with the UK Armed Forces. It is a 4 month support package to help the families settle into life in the UK.”
The Afghans will be given a package of advice and assistance to cover employment, welfare benefits, housing, health, education and utility supply. This should ensure that new arrivals are registered with GPs, registered with their local Job Centre Plus, receive a National Insurance Number and assistance to secure school places for school aged children.
They will be given four months accommodation from the date of arrival, through the South Sefton Housing Group (SSHG).
This is an alliance of several organisations in the South Sefton area which include Bosco Society Ltd, Venus, Excell Housing, and New Start.
Since 2015 the SSHG has delivered the Syrian Refugee Resettlement programme that has seen over 100 Syrian refugees successfully resettled in Sefton.
Sefton Council says that the Afghan MOD Scheme, whilst not a refugee resettlement scheme, is similar and therefore it makes sense given SSHG’s local knowledge and delivery to appoint them to deliver the Afghan MOD Scheme.
Do you have any stories for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
