Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the amount of foreign national prisoners in England and Wales.

The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a Government priority. The Ministry of Justice continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2022, and we are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries. We also signed a new protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons in October 2021 to widen the scope of transferring prisoners without their consent.

The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.

Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This provision is intended to strengthen the approach in this area.