Foreign national offenders (FNOs) will be deported quicker thanks
to a new £5m Government investment in prisons across England and
Wales.
The money will fund the deployment of specialist frontline staff
to 80 jails with one clear mission – speeding up the removal of
prisoners who have no right to be in this country.
The new crack squad will also support the Home Office to identify
and manage those going through the immigration process, ensuring
cases are progressed as quickly as possible.
FNOs make up around 12 percent of the total prison population and
deporting them sooner will help save taxpayers' millions while
easing the capacity crisis inherited by the new Government.
The move is expected to further bolster efforts which have seen
3,200 FNOs removed since July 2024 – up 19% compared to the same
period 12 months prior.
These measures are part of the Government's serious, credible
plan to finally restore order to the asylum system and surge
removals of people with no right to be here. New figures released
today show almost 21,000 returns have taken place since July 2024
– the highest rate of removals for more than half a decade.
Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending,
, said:
“It cannot be right for British taxpayers to foot the bill for
jailing foreign criminals who have brought misery to our
communities.
“Under this Government removals are up by nearly twenty percent.
We're now taking action to ensure this is done swifter, easing
pressure on overcrowded prisons and on the public purse.
“This is part of our Plan for Change – fixing the broken prison
system we inherited and keeping our streets safe.”
The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee
removals from jails. They will be in post and fully operational
by 1 April.
Notes to editors
- HM Prison and Probation Service work with the Home Office to
remove thousands of FNOs via the Early Removal Scheme (where they
can be deported up to 18 months before the end of their custodial
sentence) and via transferring FNOs to serve their sentences in
their home country.
- Since July 2024, we have removed 3,200 foreign criminals, a
19 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior.
