Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have more than one active appeal within the immigration tribunal system.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally. However, it should be noted that the case management powers of the Tribunal permit the joining together of appeals brought by an individual. The Tribunal will normally identify and link cases together to ensure effective use of time and final resolution of all matters, in one hearing.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure the provision of pre-sentencing reports for all offenders.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Where a court is considering whether an offender should receive a sentence of immediate custody, a pre-sentencing report must be obtained and considered before forming an opinion unless, in the circumstances of the case, it considers that it is unnecessary to obtain a pre-sentence report. Pre-sentencing reports. These reports see the Probation Service play an essential role in court by providing an expert assessment of the nature and causes of the offender's behaviour and the risk the offender poses.
The Lord Chancellor has been clear that the recent guidelines published by the Sentencing Council regarding pre-sentencing reports, do not represent the views of this Government. The Lord Chancellor and the Chairman of the Sentencing Council have had a constructive discussion. It was agreed that the Lord Chancellor will set out her position more fully in writing, which the Sentencing Council will then consider before the guideline is due to come into effect.
The Lord Chancellor has already stated that she will be reviewing the role and powers of the Sentencing Council, as well as what role Government should have on issues such as this, and will not hesitate to legislate if necessary.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of foreign national offenders released under the Early Removal Scheme have reoffended in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Early Removal Scheme (ERS) removes foreign national offenders (FNOs) from England and Wales. We do not monitor their behaviour overseas.
Between 05 July 2024 and 31 January 2025, 2,925 FNOs have been removed from England and Wales – 21% more than the 2,422 in the same period 12 months prior under the previous Government.
There have been 1,557 ERS removals from prison – a 26% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior (1,231) under the previous Government.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Foreign criminals to be deported quicker, published on 3 March 2025, if her Department will provide a breakdown of the £5 million investment, by allocation for (a) personnel, (b) training and (c) operational costs.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The period 05 July 2024 to 31 January 2025 saw the removal of 2,925 foreign national prisoners serving sentences in prison or in the community. That is 21% more than during the equivalent period 12 months previously, under the previous Government. 1,557 of these offenders were removed from prisons under the Early Removal Scheme – a 26% increase compared with the equivalent period 12 months previously.
The measures we announced on 03 March, which are part of the wider work we are undertaking to manage prison capacity pressures, will support the deportation process overseen by the Home Office. The Home Office reports to Parliament on immigration matters and regularly publishes statistics on the number of foreign national offenders who have been deported. The Ministry of Justice regularly reports on prison capacity and the decisive action we are taking to manage this.
The removal of foreign national offenders who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom reduces costs to the taxpayer and helps to protect the public. It is not possible to identify separately the saving that will be generated from this initiative, as it forms one part of the wider range of measures we are taking.
Our initial estimate is that £4.5 million will be spent on personnel and £500,000 on training and operational costs. The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. Staff will be in post and fully operational by 01 April.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Foreign criminals to be deported quicker, published on 3 March 2025, how frequently her Department will report to Parliament on the (a) progress and (b) outcomes of this deportation initiative.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The period 05 July 2024 to 31 January 2025 saw the removal of 2,925 foreign national prisoners serving sentences in prison or in the community. That is 21% more than during the equivalent period 12 months previously, under the previous Government. 1,557 of these offenders were removed from prisons under the Early Removal Scheme – a 26% increase compared with the equivalent period 12 months previously.
The measures we announced on 03 March, which are part of the wider work we are undertaking to manage prison capacity pressures, will support the deportation process overseen by the Home Office. The Home Office reports to Parliament on immigration matters and regularly publishes statistics on the number of foreign national offenders who have been deported. The Ministry of Justice regularly reports on prison capacity and the decisive action we are taking to manage this.
The removal of foreign national offenders who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom reduces costs to the taxpayer and helps to protect the public. It is not possible to identify separately the saving that will be generated from this initiative, as it forms one part of the wider range of measures we are taking.
Our initial estimate is that £4.5 million will be spent on personnel and £500,000 on training and operational costs. The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. Staff will be in post and fully operational by 01 April.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Foreign criminals to be deported quicker, published on 3 March 2025, what estimate she has made of the long-term financial savings from this initiative.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The period 05 July 2024 to 31 January 2025 saw the removal of 2,925 foreign national prisoners serving sentences in prison or in the community. That is 21% more than during the equivalent period 12 months previously, under the previous Government. 1,557 of these offenders were removed from prisons under the Early Removal Scheme – a 26% increase compared with the equivalent period 12 months previously.
The measures we announced on 03 March, which are part of the wider work we are undertaking to manage prison capacity pressures, will support the deportation process overseen by the Home Office. The Home Office reports to Parliament on immigration matters and regularly publishes statistics on the number of foreign national offenders who have been deported. The Ministry of Justice regularly reports on prison capacity and the decisive action we are taking to manage this.
The removal of foreign national offenders who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom reduces costs to the taxpayer and helps to protect the public. It is not possible to identify separately the saving that will be generated from this initiative, as it forms one part of the wider range of measures we are taking.
Our initial estimate is that £4.5 million will be spent on personnel and £500,000 on training and operational costs. The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. Staff will be in post and fully operational by 01 April.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Foreign criminals to be deported quicker, published on 3 March 2025, how many specialist front line staff have been hired and deployed to prisons as part of the immigration crack squad.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The period 05 July 2024 to 31 January 2025 saw the removal of 2,925 foreign national prisoners serving sentences in prison or in the community. That is 21% more than during the equivalent period 12 months previously, under the previous Government. 1,557 of these offenders were removed from prisons under the Early Removal Scheme – a 26% increase compared with the equivalent period 12 months previously.
The measures we announced on 03 March, which are part of the wider work we are undertaking to manage prison capacity pressures, will support the deportation process overseen by the Home Office. The Home Office reports to Parliament on immigration matters and regularly publishes statistics on the number of foreign national offenders who have been deported. The Ministry of Justice regularly reports on prison capacity and the decisive action we are taking to manage this.
The removal of foreign national offenders who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom reduces costs to the taxpayer and helps to protect the public. It is not possible to identify separately the saving that will be generated from this initiative, as it forms one part of the wider range of measures we are taking.
Our initial estimate is that £4.5 million will be spent on personnel and £500,000 on training and operational costs. The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. Staff will be in post and fully operational by 01 April.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biological males are currently serving a custodial sentence in a women's prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest published data on the placement of transgender prisoners (which covers transgender prisoners without gender recognition certificates, and is taken from a snapshot of the prison population on 31 March 2024), there were 2 or fewer transgender women housed within the women’s estate.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of the 200 Albanian nationals were returned under the agreement made with Albania on 24 May 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.
FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred.
A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred.
The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised.
Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed.
As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the UK/Albania: Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons agreed in October 2021, how many Albanian nationals have been returned to Albania since the signing of that Agreement.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.
FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred.
A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred.
The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised.
Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed.
As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.