Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Foreign National Offenders

Tuesday 5 November 2024 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial responses indicate that over 1,500 foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK since coming into office.
  • The Justice Secretary reports being on track to remove more foreign offenders in the current year than in previous years.
  • The legal framework allows for the removal of foreign offenders who have committed an offence, been convicted, and are held in prison under prisoner transfer agreements.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Edward Leigh Con Gainsborough
Immigration Justice & Courts
Context

MP queried the number of foreign national offenders removed through prison transfer agreements since 2010.

Question

How many foreign national offenders were removed from the UK through a prison transfer agreement in each year since 2010.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

I share the public's view that there are far too many foreign national offenders in our prisons. Since coming into office, we have returned more than 1,500 foreign offenders and, I am pleased to say, we are on track to remove more foreign offenders this year than at any time in recent years.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific yearly figures since 2010.

How: General Statement

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Q2 Wendy Morton Con Aldridge-Brownhills
Immigration Justice & Courts
Context

MP questioned the specific actions taken by the Justice Secretary to remove FNOs from prisons and return them to their countries, including through prisoner transfer agreements.

Question

Some 12% of the prison population in England and Wales are foreign national offenders, so what specific action is the Justice Secretary taking to remove FNOs from our prisons and return them to their countries, including through the use of the prisoner transfer agreements that were put in place by the previous Government?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

As I say, we are on track to remove more foreign offenders this year than in previous years. In fact, over the period when the shadow Justice Secretary was the Immigration Minister in the previous Government, the number returned was around 1,300. We have already returned more than 1,500 foreign offenders, utilising all the prisoner transfer agreements at our disposal. We are actively trying to negotiate more such agreements, so that we can continue to speed up removals from this country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify current actions or future plans beyond vague statements about removing offenders and negotiating new PTAs.

How: Comparison With Previous Government, Vague Statement

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Q3 Edward Leigh Con Gainsborough
Immigration Migrants & Borders
Context

MP inquired about the legality and feasibility of arresting illegal channel crossers and deporting them to Albania.

Question

The previous Government negotiated a scheme by which we can deport Albanian prisoners back to Albania. It is an excellent scheme; Albania is a completely safe country, of course. Given that those crossing the channel are committing an illegal offence, is there anything legally to stop us arresting them and putting them on a flight straight to Albania? We do not even need to lock them up in Albania; they can just start their journey all over again—what a good deterrent.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

As the right hon. Gentleman well knows, we have legal obligations to those who arrive in this country that have to play out. However, PTAs relate to those who have committed an offence, have been convicted and are being held in the prison estate. They can therefore be removed from this country under a prisoner transfer agreement. We are working with the Albanians to ensure that the PTA with Albania is as effective as possible.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address feasibility or legality of arresting and deporting illegal crossers without legal obligations, focusing on convicted offenders only.

How: Legal Obligation

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Q4 Shaun Davies Lab Telford
Immigration Justice & Courts
Context

MP suggested considering a stand-alone deportation order during the sentencing review to avoid long-term imprisonment costs.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend consider a stand-alone deportation order as part of the sentencing review, so that rather than taxpayers having to pay to imprison foreign offenders for years on end, those offenders are deported back to their country of origin?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

Personally, I am of the view that deportation for somebody who has been convicted and is due to be imprisoned in our country is as good a punishment as serving time in a prison in this country. We are looking actively at what more we can do to make the early removal scheme as effective as possible, including potential options to bring forward the point of early removal from this country. I will be working with colleagues in the Home Office as we develop our plans in this area.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to a stand-alone deportation order but mentioned ongoing review and development of early removal schemes.

How: Personal View, Ongoing Review

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