Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Ministry of Justice data: gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings January 2023 to March 2023, published July 2023, what the (a) agenda, (b) attendance and (c) outcomes were of the meeting between the Rt hon. Member for East Hampshire and the Albanian Prison Director on 21 March 2023.

A new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania came into force in May 2022. A meeting between the Director General for prisons and Minister Hinds took place on 21 March 2023 where they discussed the Prisoner Transfer Agreement between the UK and Albania and Albania’s plans to reform their prison system.

In May 2023, we announced a complementary arrangement whereby the UK Government has agreed to provide support to modernise and expand the Albanian prison system and in return Albania has agreed to accept the return of up to 200 Albanian Nationals currently serving sentences of 4 years or more in the UK. The Home Office simultaneously announced over £4m in funding for capacity building and prison reform in Albania, including investment in security equipment, vehicles, and technical assistance.