Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the prisoner transfer agreement with Albania.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania came into force in May 2022. 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 arrangement will save taxpayers’ money, as it is cheaper to house prisoners in Albania than in England and Wales and will also free up capacity in our prisons.
The deal builds on the prisoner transfer agreement signed between the UK and Albania in 2021, which came into force in May 2022. This implementation package will ensure Albania has the right processes and prison capacity in place, meaning transfers can now proceed at pace.
Mentions:
1: Bob Blackman (Con - Harrow East) Iran (NCRI), targeting in particular members of the organised opposition, PMOI (MEK), in Ashraf 3, Albania - Speech Link
2: Bob Blackman (Con - Harrow East) Iran (NCRI), targeting in particular members of the organised opposition, PMOI (MEK), in Ashraf 3, Albania - Speech Link
3: Bob Blackman (Con - Harrow East) In Albania, the regime’s claws continue to menace the people. - Speech Link
4: Wayne David (Lab - Caerphilly) Member mentioned the Ashraf 3 camp in Albania, and although it is not entirely clear what has happened - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) We have also signed a robust new agreement with Albania which has restarted transfers of Albanian FNOs - Speech Link
Written Evidence May. 14 2024
Inquiry: Modern Slavery Act 2015Found: As such, victims cannot obtain redress within Albania, and where the issues listed above cause a
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal migrants have been returned to Albania since the publication of the UK-Albania Joint Communique: Enhancing bilateral Cooperation in areas of common interest on 13 December 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on detected irregular arrivals in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK Quarterly Release’. Quarterly data on detected irregular arrivals broken down by method of entry and nationality are published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular Migration detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to end June 2023.
Further provisional small boat arrivals data is published in the data tables accompanying the ‘Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act’. Numbers of arrivals by nationality are published in table IMB_01b for Q2 and July 2023.
The Home Office also publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on returns by destination are published in table Ret_D02 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2023.
Further provisional returns data is published in the data tables accompanying the ‘Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act’. Quarterly numbers of returns of Albanians and all other nationalities are published in table IMB_05 up to the end of July 2023. Since the signing of the UK-Albania Joint Communique on 13 December 2022, the UK has returned 2,898 Albanian nationals to Albania and covers the period up to 31 July 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Mentions:
1: Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con - Life peer) It removes Albania, the Cayman Islands, Jordan and Panama from the list, and adds Bulgaria, Cameroon, - Speech Link
2: Lord Livermore (Lab - Life peer) Specifically, Albania, Cayman Islands, Jordan and Panama have been removed.In past debates, the Government - Speech Link
Correspondence Jan. 08 2024
Committee: International Relations and Defence CommitteeFound: Albania is both a source and transit country while the remainder of the countries are transit countries
Mentions:
1: Alicia Kearns (Con - Rutland and Melton) The resolution is supported by Balkan countries including Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia - Speech Link
2: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Lab - Slough) There was also considerable concern in Albania, and during my recent meeting with the British Albanian - Speech Link
3: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford) We must bear in mind that Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia are our NATO partners. - Speech Link
4: Stephen Doughty (LAB - Cardiff South and Penarth) It is good to see increased co-operation with Albania on migration and trade. - Speech Link
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many Albanian illegal migrants arrived in the UK since the publication of the UK-Albania Joint Communique: Enhancing bilateral Cooperation in areas of common interest on 13 December 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on detected irregular arrivals in the ‘Irregular Migration to the UK Quarterly Release’. Quarterly data on detected irregular arrivals broken down by method of entry and nationality are published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular Migration detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to end June 2023.
Further provisional small boat arrivals data is published in the data tables accompanying the ‘Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act’. Numbers of arrivals by nationality are published in table IMB_01b for Q2 and July 2023.
The Home Office also publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on returns by destination are published in table Ret_D02 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of March 2023.
Further provisional returns data is published in the data tables accompanying the ‘Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act’. Quarterly numbers of returns of Albanians and all other nationalities are published in table IMB_05 up to the end of July 2023. Since the signing of the UK-Albania Joint Communique on 13 December 2022, the UK has returned 2,898 Albanian nationals to Albania and covers the period up to 31 July 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Mentions:
1: Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD - Life peer) That is called the Albania deal. - Speech Link
2: Lord Coaker (Lab - Life peer) Albania works because it is Albanians being sent back to Albania. - Speech Link
3: Lord Coaker (Lab - Life peer) I have agreed with the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, about Albania. - Speech Link