Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Herbert of South Downs Excerpts

Tuesday 29th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Lorraine Fullbrook (South Ribble) (Con)]

6. What proportion of the cost of accommodating foreign national prisoners awaiting deportation after serving their sentences is provided by his Department.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

Currently, about 40% of the cost of accommodating foreign national prisoners who have completed their sentence and are awaiting deportation is borne by the Ministry of Justice.

[Lorraine Fullbrook]

The Prime Minister has, on a number of occasions, expressed his desire to see such prisoners deported after serving their sentence. Why are they not then transferred to secure immigration centres in readiness for their immediate deportation after their sentence is completed?

[Nick Herbert]

I agree with my hon. Friend that that is what we should be aiming to do. Wherever possible, detainees should be transferred to immigration removal centres. We are opening a new centre and the majority of detainees are already in those centres. We want to ensure that that number increases.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

7. What plans his Department has for the future of the probation service.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

10. How many foreign national prisoners he expects to have repatriated in 2011.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

In 2010 about 5,000 foreign national prisoners were removed or deported. However, the number transferred through prisoner transfer arrangements is too low. We expect to transfer about 50 prisoners this year. The Government believe that foreign national prisoners should serve their sentence in their own country, and we are seeking to secure further compulsory prisoner transfer agreements wherever possible.

[Lindsay Roy]

I thank the Minister for his detailed answer. Can he explain why that small number differs so markedly from the autumn predictions of the Prime Minister that thousands would be repatriated? What is holding things up, or was that just a wild estimate or a rash promise?

[Nick Herbert]

As I said, more than 5,000 prisoners have been removed. Of course, the situation will change in December when the EU prisoner transfer agreement comes into force. As a consequence of that, we will be able to remove many more prisoners to serve their sentence in other countries.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

I thank the Minister for his robust answer. Of the nearly 200 countries in the UN whose citizens could potentially be here in prison, do the Government have any targets for the number of additional agreements we expect to implement outside the EU, or in particular to implement with those countries whose citizens constitute the largest number of prisoners in this country when they should be somewhere else?

[Nick Herbert]

We have to negotiate this with individual countries. We cannot simply remove prisoners to countries to serve a sentence there unless those countries accept it, but we can compulsorily remove prisoners if the countries agree. We already have agreements with Uganda, Rwanda and other countries, and an agreement is being negotiated with Nigeria. We would like to negotiate as many more arrangements as we can, but some countries simply disagree.

[Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What discussions he has had with representatives of the Serious Fraud Office on his proposed guidance in respect of the Bribery Act 2010.

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[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

13. How many prisoners convicted of violent offences and released under the early release scheme between 2007 and 2010 have since been returned to prison.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

Over 80,000 prisoners were released under the end of custody licence scheme. Over 16,000 of these were violent offenders, of whom 494 were recalled to custody during the ECL period. It is not possible to calculate how many were recalled or imprisoned for a new offence after the ECL period.

[Karen Lumley]

I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he inform me of his plans to avoid a repetition of the shambolic and incoherent justice policy that saw a mass early release of many prisoners, many of whom went on to commit new offences and were returned to jail?

[Nick Herbert]

I can reassure my hon. Friend that we will do everything possible to avoid a return to the scheme that was cynically stopped by the previous Government just before the last election, but not before they had released over 80,000 prisoners. There were 1,600 alleged offences committed by the prisoners who were released early, including six serious further offences and one murder. The Opposition should certainly not be lecturing us on that area.

[Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)]

14. What steps he is taking to support drug rehabilitation in prisons.

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[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice mentioned the repatriation of Nigerian prisoners and the contract that is being signed. Will he tell the House, following three years of discussion by the previous Government, how many prisoners from Nigeria have been repatriated this year and how many more he expects to repatriate next year?

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

The Nigerian Government and Parliament have to agree to it, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, and we are awaiting that.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

Morale among the prison officers in the two prisons in South Dorset is at an all-time low. Will the Minister reassure me that their rights will be upheld as well as the prisoners’ rights?

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

The Forensic Science Service provides impartial evidence to the courts. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with it to secure its future and ensure that its primary duty remains to the court, not to shareholders?

[Nick Herbert]

As the hon. Lady will know, there have been considerable difficulties in relation to the Forensic Science Service, and we have been in extensive discussions with it about how we can ensure the future provision of forensic services.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The Prison Minister is being very quick in his answers. Could he be very quick in answer to this question? Will he confirm that Wellingborough prison is not to close?