Foreign prisoners will be deported sooner thanks to new
legislation introduced today (25 June) to free up vital prison
capacity, keep our streets safe and save taxpayers' money.
The move is set to boost efforts which have already seen a 14%
increase in deportations since July last year.
Foreign offenders make up around 12 percent of the total prison
population and deporting them sooner is estimated to free up
around 500 prison places per year. On average a prison place
costs £54,000 a year and the measures will stop wasting
taxpayers' millions while protecting the British public by
getting foreign national offenders out of our prisons and off our
streets.
Offenders who are deported are also permanently barred from
re-entering the UK, keeping their victims and the wider public
safe. Any attempt to return will result in immediate reactivation
of their original sentence.
Changes to the Early Removal Scheme will mean prisoners with no
right to be in the country will face deportation 30% into their
prison term rather than the current 50%.
Combined with upcoming sentencing reforms, this could see many
serving fixed-term sentences eligible for deportation after
serving 10 percent, down from 20 or 25 percent currently.
The legislation also extends the removal window from 18 to 48
months before the end of the custodial part of an offender's
sentence.
Lord Chancellor, , said:
"With prisons close to bursting, I'm clear we shouldn't be giving
bed and board to foreign criminals with no right to be here.
"These changes will get more of them on planes out of the country
much sooner, saving taxpayers' money and keeping our streets safe
as part of our Plan for Change.
“This Government's message is crystal clear - if you come here
and break our laws, you'll be sent packing in record time.”
The Early Removal Scheme only applies to those on Determinate
Sentences and excludes those being held for terrorism or
terror-related offences. It is also a discretionary power so
release for deportation can be refused in certain circumstances,
including where there is clear evidence a prisoner is planning
further crime.
Today's announcement builds on plans for 14,000 more prison
places by 2031 and landmark sentencing reforms to ensure the
country never runs out of cells again.
The move follows £5 million for the deployment of specialist
staff to almost 80 jails with one clear mission – speeding up
removals. These are all now in post.
This government has made it a priority to restore order to our
borders through the Plan for Change and has surged removals of
those with no right to be here, with 30,000 returns since the
election.
The changes are expected to come into force in September subject
to Parliamentary approval.
Notes to editors
- The predicted number of prison places freed up by these
changes is based on the current number of removals per year.
- Under landmark sentencing reforms announced by the
Government, all offenders on standard determinate sentences will
spend at least one-third of their sentence in prison and have to
earn their release at this point or face longer behind bars for
bad behaviour. This means combined with the changes to the Early
Removal Scheme many foreign national offenders could be deported
from this country after 10 percent of their sentence.
