Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will accelerate deportations of (a) foreign national offenders and (b) illegal immigrants.

We pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to nearly 19,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed in the first six months this government was in office.

That included 5,074 enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK, up 24% compared with the same period 12 months prior, and the removal of 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) – a 21% increase on the same period 12 months prior (FNO returns include both enforced and voluntary returns).

As part of the above, bespoke charter flights have removed immigration offenders to countries around the world, including 4 of the biggest returns flights in the UK’s history, carrying more than 800 people in total.

This ramp-up reverses the decline in removals seen over the past 10 years and, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, is working to fix the foundations of a broken immigration system.

Further details on this government’s returns activity since 5 July can be found here: Returns from the UK since 5 July 2024 - GOV.UK