Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's news story of 6 January 2015 on deport first, appeal later measures, how many of the nearly 800 foreign criminals that have been removed had been (a) convicted, (b) subject to a custodial sentence and (c) subject to a suspended or other non-custodial sentence.

Those who break our laws should be removed from the country at the earliest opportunity, and we will seek to remove any foreign national criminal who receives a custodial sentence for a criminal offence. The deport first, appeal later measures were introduced by this Government through s.17(3) Immigration Act 2014 and regulations 29(3) and 24AA of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (as amended). These measures apply to individuals who are liable to deportation because of their criminal offending. All of the individuals subject to these measures have served a custodial sentence for criminal offences. More than 300 foreign national offenders have already been
removed, with nearly 500 more currently going through the system.