Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of foreign national offenders, and how many foreign national offenders, have been transferred to Poland to serve their sentences since the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters was signed in November 2024.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national offenders have been transferred under the voluntary transfer mechanism provided by the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons in the past year.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage foreign national offenders to use the voluntary transfer mechanism under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All convicted foreign national offenders (FNOs) who receive a custodial sentence are referred to the Home Office to be considered for deportation. On entry to custody, FNOs are informed of the likelihood of deportation and encouraged to take up removal schemes including prisoner transfer agreements.
The Ministry of Justice has invested £5 million on 82 FNO specialists to oversee swift removals from prisons. These specialists are working with the Home Office to remove FNOs who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom, by encouraging compliance, and by actively investigating, and seeking to remove, barriers to removal, thereby reducing the costs to the taxpayer and helping to protect the public.
These specialists have also received training on prisoner transfers and in addition to their main function of ensuring deportation under the Early Removal Scheme, they also encourage FNOs to apply for voluntary repatriation under prisoner transfer agreements including the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Prisoner Transfer is only one of the mechanisms where FNOs can be removed early.
14 FNOs have been successfully transferred voluntarily under this Convention between July 2024 and 31 December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
There were no FNOs transferred to Poland under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on Cooperation in Criminal Justice Matters in November 2024 and the end of December 2024. Data on repatriations after 1 January 2025 is not able to be shared.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the number of foreign national offenders held on remand.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The decision to remand any individual in custody or to grant bail for is solely a matter for the courts and independent judiciary acting in accordance with the law.
We are working with partners across the system to ensure that the recent growth in the remand population is effectively managed.
The Home Office has trialled starting deportation casework earlier in the foreign national offender (FNO) journey, focusing on FNOs awaiting sentencing.
So far, this process has proved effective in increasing the time available to effect departures and has now been expanded to all prisons.
Since 5 July 2024, we have returned over 4,000 FNOs which is more than in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify, and learn from, examples of best practice among charitable organisations that work with people in prisons, or help former prisoners readjust upon release.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations already play an enormous role in the vital work of preparing prisoners for release, and of helping them to adapt on their return to the community. 76% of current Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts – support to help people in custody or on probation to reduce their risk of re-offending – are led by VCSEs.
In addition, the CRS General Grant Scheme provides funding exclusively to third-sector services that promote rehabilitation and desistance, as well as those providing support to people with shared protected characteristics or shared experiences. To date, 32 grants have been awarded.
His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) also works with a wide range of charitable organisations to deliver prison education. These include the Shannon Trust, National Literacy Trust, Prisoners Education Trust, The Clink and St Giles. Many have been funded to develop their work through HMPPS grants or contracts.
To inform the development of a new generation of CRS contracts, national engagement events have been held throughout the design phase. These events have been well attended by third-sector organisations and have ensured that the providers’ voice is fully taken into account in designing the new specification. Resources have been dedicated to ensuring a role for third sector organisations in the new generation of contracts.
We are keen to evaluate activities, wherever possible, to learn from best practice, and we encourage charity providers themselves to evaluate their work. The ability to demonstrate good outcomes can help to support further bids for funding.
Many suppliers of Prison Education Services, of which there are over 400, are charitable organisations. Best practice is shared regularly with Heads of Education, Skills and Work in HMPPS, and information is regularly distributed from potential providers to all prison sites.
Asked by: Baroness Porter of Fulwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the capacity of charitable organisations working with people in prisons, or helping former prisoners readjust upon release, could be scaled.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations already play an enormous role in the vital work of preparing prisoners for release, and of helping them to adapt on their return to the community. 76% of current Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts – support to help people in custody or on probation to reduce their risk of re-offending – are led by VCSEs.
In addition, the CRS General Grant Scheme provides funding exclusively to third-sector services that promote rehabilitation and desistance, as well as those providing support to people with shared protected characteristics or shared experiences. To date, 32 grants have been awarded.
His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) also works with a wide range of charitable organisations to deliver prison education. These include the Shannon Trust, National Literacy Trust, Prisoners Education Trust, The Clink and St Giles. Many have been funded to develop their work through HMPPS grants or contracts.
To inform the development of a new generation of CRS contracts, national engagement events have been held throughout the design phase. These events have been well attended by third-sector organisations and have ensured that the providers’ voice is fully taken into account in designing the new specification. Resources have been dedicated to ensuring a role for third sector organisations in the new generation of contracts.
We are keen to evaluate activities, wherever possible, to learn from best practice, and we encourage charity providers themselves to evaluate their work. The ability to demonstrate good outcomes can help to support further bids for funding.
Many suppliers of Prison Education Services, of which there are over 400, are charitable organisations. Best practice is shared regularly with Heads of Education, Skills and Work in HMPPS, and information is regularly distributed from potential providers to all prison sites.