Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Lemos on 15 September (HL2861), what the cost to the taxpayer of holding foreign national offenders in prisons was in (1) 2025, and (2) 2026 to date.

It is not possible to disaggregate prison running costs by nationality. Cost per prisoner depends on the category of prison.

The latest costs per prisoner, by individual prison, are published by H M Prison & Probation Service as part of its Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25 Management Information Addendum. Data on the number of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in custody are published in the Offender management statistics quarterly under the prison population table 1_Q_9.

Within its first two years (July 2024 to June 2026), this Government has increased returns of FNOs by 41% compared to the last two years of the previous Government.