Buckinghamshire Council says it is "actively working with the Home Office" on plans to house refugees from war-torn Afghanistan. 

A number of other councils, including neighbouring council the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, have already revealed plans to house Afghan families fleeing the country after the Taliban seized Kabul. 

Men, women and children have been fleeing from Afghanistan after a troop withdrawal of NATO forces was exploited by Taliban forces to retake the country.

This week, the Government announced it would allow a total of 20,000 Afghans to resettle in the UK, with 5,000 being rehomed in the first year of the scheme.

The Bucks Free Press asked Buckinghamshire Council if they will be rehousing any Afghan refugees, as the Royal Borough revealed it would be helping two Afghan families "immediately". 

A council spokesman said: “All local authorities have been asked to support the Afghan Locally Employed Staff (LES) Relocation Scheme and we are actively working with the Home Office.”

The Afghan LES scheme rehomes Afghans who have worked for the UK and risked their lives alongside British forces in the country over the last 20 years.

The Afghanistan LES scheme, part of the Government’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP), was established in 2013.

The LES scheme is separate from the recently announced Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme, which will allow a total of 20,000 Afghans to resettle in the UK, with 5,000 being rehomed in the first year of the scheme.

The new resettlement programme is not operational yet and was announced on Wednesday, August 18.