Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners who were liable for deportation (a) applied for and (b) were refused Category D prison status in each of the last five years.

Prisoners liable to any type of enforcement proceedings are risk assessed very carefully to ensure they are suitable for open conditions. On 13 August 2014 we amended the Prison and YOI Rules so that prisoners who have a Deportation Order served against them and have exhausted their rights of appeal from within the UK can no longer be moved to open conditions or considered for temporary release.

Prisoners who have not yet been served with a Deportation Order, but are being considered by the Home Office for removal from the UK, are now subject to a more rigorous assessment before being considered for open conditions or temporary release to ensure that they are of very low risk of absconding.

To provide information on the number and proportion of prisoners who were liable for deportation and had applied for, and were refused Category D/open conditions status in each of the last five years could only be provided at disproportionate cost.