Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the practice of deporting foreign national offenders at the conclusion of their custodial sentences, where appropriate.

Our priority will always be to keep the British public safe. That is why foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and more than 12,200 have been removed since January 2019.

We make every effort to ensure that a foreign national offender’s removal by deportation coincides, as far as possible, with their release from prison on completion of sentence, however we can face significant and complex challenges when seeking to deport them to their country of origin.

That is why the Nationality and Borders Act makes provisions to streamline the appeals process by introducing an expanded one stop process aimed at reducing the extent to which people can frustrate removals through sequential or unmeritorious claims, appeals or legal action. The Act makes it easier and quicker to remove FNOs and those with no right to be in the UK, it extends the period an FNO can be removed from prison under the early removal scheme (ERS) from a maximum of 9 months to 12 months, providing the minimum requisite period has been served

We remain resolute in our commitment to deport those who would abuse our hospitality.