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.
- Swifter deportation to ease capacity crisis and stop wasting taxpayers' money
- Foreign prisoners to be eligible for deportation earlier into their prison sentence
- Builds on deportation of 4,436 foreign criminals over last year as part of Plan for Change to restore control to our borders
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, Shabana Mahmood, 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.
Background information
- 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.
