Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Deporting Foreign Offenders: Prison Capacity

Tuesday 8 July 2025 · 1 question

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

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK prisons are at full capacity and 12% of prison places are occupied by foreign nationals.
  • The Secretary of State has deported more people in the first year than the previous government did.
  • Legal changes will bring more offenders into scope earlier in their sentence.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stuart Anderson Con South Shropshire
Context

UK prisons are operating at full capacity with 12% of prison places occupied by foreign nationals.

Question

UK prisons are at full capacity and 12% of prison places are occupied by foreign nationals. Will the Secretary of State look to deport all foreign nationals who commit offences in our country to free up that space?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

We have already deported more people in the first year of this Government than was the case under the previous Government, so we are going faster on foreign national offender removals from our prison estate. The legal changes we are making will bring more offenders into scope earlier in their sentence, making them eligible for deportation.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Deportation of all foreign nationals without specific conditions was not addressed

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