Prisoners' Transfers: EU Countries
(asked on 12th February 2019) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for each EU Member State, how many prisoners have been transferred (a) to and (b) from the UK under the EU Prisoner Transfer Directive.
Any foreign national who comes to our country and abuses our hospitality by breaking the law should be in no doubt of our determination to punish and deport them. More than 45,000 foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK since 2010, and in the last financial year almost 6,000 were removed from prisons, immigration removal centres, and the community.
The Early Removal Scheme is the principal method for removing foreign national offenders early from prison. In 2017/18, over 2,000 foreign national offenders were removed under this scheme. Prisoners may also be transferred to a prison in their own country under Prisoner Transfer Agreements. The principal compulsory prisoner transfer scheme is the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision (2008/909/JHA). In addition, compulsory transfer may take place under the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and a small number of bilateral prisoner transfer agreements.
Our departure from the European Union will have implications on prisoner transfers to the EU. If we leave the EU without a ‘deal’, we will lose access to the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision. This will mean falling back on the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and its Additional Protocol, which we believe to be a less effective mechanism than the EU agreement. Therefore, under a ‘no deal’ scenario we should be prepared to see a decline in the number of transfers to and from the EU.
The tables below provide information for England and Wales, taken from Management Information. In relation to British national prisoners transferred into England and Wales, Management Information does not distinguish between prisoners transferred under the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision and the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Transfer may therefore have taken place on either a voluntary or compulsory basis. Please note that transfers have not taken place to several countries listed in the tables below as the UK either does not hold nationals from those countries in our prisons, or because there are concerns that prisons might be in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The transfer of prisoners into and out of Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
Table 1: Transfer under the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision (EU PTFD) | ||||
Country | Date country ratified the EU PTFD | Number of foreign national prisoners transferred from England and Wales | Number of British national prisoners transferred into England and Wales | |
1 | Austria | 01/01/2012 | -- | 1 |
2 | Belgium | 18/06/2012 | 17 | 3 |
3 | Bulgaria | Not ratified | -- | -- |
4 | Croatia | 01/07/2013 | -- | 1 |
5 | Cyprus | 23/05/2014 | 1 | 5 |
6 | Czech Republic | 01/01/2014 | 12 | 3 |
7 | Denmark | 05/12/2011 | 1 | 6 |
8 | Estonia | 01/01/2015 | 1 | -- |
9 | Finland | 05/12/2011 | -- | 1 |
10 | France | 05/08/2013 | -- | -- |
11 | Germany | 25/07/2015 | 2 | 9 |
12 | Greece | 15/11/2014 | -- | 2 |
13 | Hungary | 01/01/2013 | -- | 1 |
14 | Italy | 05/12/2011 | 9 | 9 |
15 | Ireland (Republic) | Not ratified | -- | -- |
16 | Latvia | 01/07/2012 | 15 | -- |
17 | Lithuania | 01/04/2015 | 28 | -- |
18 | Luxembourg | 05/12/2011 | -- | 2 |
19 | Malta | 03/02/2012 | 1 | 1 |
20 | Netherlands | 01/11/2012 | 141 | 6 |
21 | Poland | 01/01/2012 | 35 | -- |
22 | Portugal | 17/12/2015 | 9 | 7 |
23 | Romania | 26/12/2013 | 56 | -- |
24 | Slovakia | 01/02/2012 | 17 | 2 |
25 | Slovenia | 20/09/2013 | -- | -- |
26 | Spain | 11/12/2014 | 9 | 40 |
27 | Sweden | 01/04/2015 | 3 | 1 |
Total | 357 | 100 | ||
Table 2: Transfer Under the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons This table does not include EU Member States which have ratified the Additional Protocol as transfers take place under the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision. Please note: the date of entry into force has been taken as the date the UK ratified the Additional Protocol or the date of ratification by the named country, whichever is the later date. | ||||
Country | Date the Additional Protocol entered into force | Number of foreign national prisoners transferred from England and Wales | Number of British national prisoners transferred into England and Wales | |
1 | Bulgaria | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
2 | Georgia | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
3 | Iceland | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
4 | Lichtenstein | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
5 | FRY Macedonia | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
6 | Moldova | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
7 | Montenegro | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
8 | Norway | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
9 | Russia | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
10 | Serbia | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
11 | San Marino | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
12 | Switzerland | 01/10/2014 | -- | -- |
13 | Turkey | 01/09/2016 | -- | -- |
14 | Ukraine | 01/11/2009 | -- | -- |
Table 3: Bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreements | ||||
Country | Date the Bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement came into force | Number of foreign national prisoners transferred from England and Wales | Number of British national prisoners transferred into England and Wales | |
1 | Albania | 11/06/2013 | 24 | 2 |
2 | Ghana | 06/07/2017 | -- | -- |
3 | Libya | 29/04/2009 | -- | -- |
4 | Nigeria | 29/09/2014 | 1 | -- |
5 | Rwanda | 23/11/2010 | -- | -- |
6 | Somaliland | Not Available | -- | -- |
Total | 25 | 2 | ||