THE government has been urged to double down on efforts to relocate Afghans in a report released on the two-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul today.

Cross-party law reform group Justice warned there remain “significant delays, lack of transparency, and lack of consistency to government decision-making” with its two Afghan resettlement schemes.

Cabinet minister Johnny Mercer vowed to make them “work properly” as he admitted some people left behind after the Taliban takeover have still not been brought to safety in Britain two years after the Operation Pitting evacuation.

But the delays and red tape have led “many” who previously worked with British authorities in Kabul to resort to dangerous Channel crossings in small boats, the Afghan and Central Asian Association said.

Justice’s report warned there was a lack of clarity about how the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) operate, and a convoluted application process involving the need to travel to third countries, such as Pakistan, for biometrics and visas, “often incurs significant risk to the lives of applicants.”

It said the government has relocated just over 12,300 individuals from the 141,000 applications it received for Arap and that Britain’s cap of 20,000 for ACRS is far lower than its international counterparts.

Justice chief executive Fiona Rutherford said: “Immediate action is required to help Afghans who have put their lives and the lives of their family on the line for Britain and deserve to be quickly relocated to safety.”

The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association, which has been working with Afghan refugees, said: “The two schemes have resettled only a limited number of individuals in the UK.”

Its founder, Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, added: “Consequently, numerous at-risk Afghans, including those who previously collaborated with British authorities in Kabul, lack a secure path to the UK.

“This situation has driven many to resort to dangerous Channel crossings in small boats.”

Many Afghan families have been let down by the promised warm welcome to Britain following the Taliban takeover, a report by the More In Common think tank added.

It said there had been failings in areas including the housing and accommodation, funding and integration of Afghans into local communities.

The report said: “Many refugees’ offers for housing and jobs fell through because local authorities were too slow to react and not agile enough in finding solutions to complex challenges.”

Mr Mercer, who served in Afghanistan during his time in the military, said: “I accept that there are people in Afghanistan at the moment that we have a duty to who are not in the UK, who I want to see in the UK.”

He added he is “determined” to make the resettlement schemes “work properly” and that Afghan refugees and their families have had a “very, very difficult experience” after being forced to stay in hotels “for far too long.”