Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Jamaican nationals have been returned to Jamaica in each year since the signing of the Compulsory Transfer Agreement with Jamaica in September 2015.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.
FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred.
A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred.
The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised.
Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed.
As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time permanent MOD staff have worked on coordinating Operation Interflex in each year since 2002.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below is based on those who have been involved in co-ordinating Operation INTERFLEX for each of the six Tranches, which to date have delivered more than 51,000 trained Ukrainians. The table includes those assigned to INTERFLEX HQ, the training delivery units and the logistic support element.
Please note the UK delivers Op INTERFLEX in conjunction with our partners. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Lithuania, Australia, Romania, Netherlands, Kosovo, and Estonia are all supporting the training programme. Albania will also be joining from the end of February, so UK personnel numbers alone do not represent output of total personnel.
Tranche | Dates from | No of UK Personnel |
1 | Jun-22 | 1,389 |
2 | Jan-23 | 1,270 |
3 | Jul-23 | 1,270 |
4 | Jan-24 | 388 |
5 | Jul-24 | 428 |
6 | Jan-25 | 369 |
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Chevening Scholarships provide fully-funded postgraduate masters awards at UK universities for future global leaders from approximately 140 eligible countries and territories.
Chevening Programme Expenditure
Financial year | Total programme expenditure |
2019 - 2020 | £57,744,779.51 |
2020 - 2021 | £50,397,000.00 |
2021 - 2022 | £59,233,000.00 |
2022 - 2023 | £58,994,000.00 |
2023 - 2024 | £59,330,000.00 |
Annual costs for Chevening Scholarships can be found in the FCDO Annual Reports and Accounts on GOV.UK. The cost for each Chevening scholar varies between individuals, depending on factors including the cost of tuition fees, accommodation and flights.
Breakdown of recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship for the last 5 years:
Country/Territory | Awards made in 2019 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2020 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2021 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2022 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2023 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2024 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
Afghanistan | 15 | 23 | 29 | 18 | 21 | 13 |
Albania | 16 | 6 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
Algeria | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Angola | 9 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Anguilla | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Argentina | 25 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 30 |
Armenia | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Azerbaijan | 9 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
Bahamas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Bangladesh | 13 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 21 | 22 |
Barbados | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Belize | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Benin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Bermuda | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bhutan | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Bolivia | 7 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Botswana | 9 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Brazil | 57 | 46 | 53 | 47 | 46 | 36 |
Brunei Darussalam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Burkina Faso |
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
Burundi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Cambodia | 17 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
Cameroon | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
Canada | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Cape Verde | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Cayman Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chad | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Chile | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
China | 60 | 37 | 41 | 33 | 30 | 17 |
Colombia | 25 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Congo, Republic of | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The | 7 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Costa Rica | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Côte d’Ivoire | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
Cuba | 12 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
Djibouti | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Dominica | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Dominican Republic | 11 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 |
Ecuador | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Egypt | 45 | 33 | 39 | 32 | 31 | 29 |
El Salvador | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Equatorial Guinea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Eritrea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Ethiopia | 16 | 24 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 17 |
Falkland Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fiji | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Gabon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Georgia | 13 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 |
Ghana | 22 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 14 |
Greece | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Grenada | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Guatemala | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Guinea | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Guyana | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Haiti | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Honduras | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Hong Kong | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Iceland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
India | 47 | 38 | 41 | 46 | 38 | 36 |
Indonesia | 60 | 50 | 58 | 45 | 42 | 39 |
Iraq | 22 | 21 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 18 |
Israel | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Jamaica | 18 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Jordan | 15 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
Kazakhstan | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
Kenya | 33 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 30 |
Kingdom of Eswatini | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Kiribati | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Kosovo | 5 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Lebanon | 9 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
Lesotho | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
Liberia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Libya | 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 11 |
Madagascar | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Malawi | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
Malaysia | 38 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 34 | 31 |
Maldives | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Mali | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Mauritania | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Mauritius | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
Mexico | 53 | 39 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 33 |
Moldova, Republic Of | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Mongolia | 7 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 |
Montenegro | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
Montserrat | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Morocco | 11 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
Mozambique | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
Myanmar | 12 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
Namibia | 9 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
Nauru | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Nepal | 11 | 12 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Nicaragua | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Niger | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Nigeria | 56 | 46 | 46 | 44 | 44 | 30 |
North Macedonia | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Oman | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pakistan | 49 | 34 | 51 | 47 | 46 | 43 |
Palestinian Territory, Occupied | 26 | 20 | 23 | 14 | 13 | 10 |
Panama | 7 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Papua New Guinea | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
Paraguay | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
Peru | 18 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 10 |
Philippines | 28 | 16 | 34 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
Republic of Korea | 24 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 12 |
Rwanda | 19 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
Saint Helena | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Saint Lucia | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Samoa | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Sao Tome And Principe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Senegal | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
Serbia | 15 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
Seychelles | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Sierra Leone | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Singapore | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
Solomon Islands | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
Somalia | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
South Africa | 44 | 33 | 46 | 35 | 42 | 28 |
South Caucasus | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
South Sudan | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Sri Lanka | 6 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Sudan | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
Suriname | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 22 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
Taiwan (Republic of China) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Tajikistan | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Tanzania | 18 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 9 |
Thailand | 24 | 15 | 22 | 17 | 22 | 21 |
The Gambia | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Timor-Leste | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tonga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tunisia | 14 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
Turkey | 24 | 21 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 23 |
Turkmenistan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Tuvalu | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Uganda | 16 | 16 | 24 | 18 | 24 | 17 |
Ukraine | 21 | 20 | 19 | 42 | 26 | 23 |
Uruguay | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
Uzbekistan | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Venezuela | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Vietnam | 24 | 19 | 25 | 19 | 23 | 22 |
Virgin Islands (British) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Yemen | 9 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 9 |
Zambia | 23 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
Zimbabwe | 30 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
We are withholding some country specific information under Section 38 (Health and Safety) exemption (1) (a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, which provides that information is exempt if disclosure would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual or endanger the safety of any individual.
Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Italian Government decision to use naval ships to transport migrants to Albania.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Italian navy has competence for the transfer of migrants rescued in international waters to the centres in Albania run by the Italian government.
As part of this Government’s expansion of international cooperation in the fight against Organised Immigration Crime, we constantly monitor the impact of the methods, techniques and technology that other partner nations and agencies are employing in that fight.
The UK government is monitoring the Italian government implementation of their deal with Albania as an innovative approach to manage migration flows.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on tackling human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Responsibility for modern slavery and human trafficking sits within the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls' portfolio in the Home Office.
Modern slavery is a global crime and the Government is committed to working with international partners to tackle it.
In September 2024, the Minister met the (now former) US Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to discuss the Government's modern slavery and humans trafficking priorities. The Minister has also met senior representatives from the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings during their evaluation visit in December 2024.
The UK has close relationships with Governments from other countries, including Albania, Vietnam and Romania, to address shared priorities on modern slavery. Partnerships with these countries are maintained through regular senior official engagement and deliver initiatives to prevent modern slavery, improve law enforcement cooperation and support effective reintegration of victims so they can rebuild their lives.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Albanian nationals have been deported in 2024; and whether any individuals deported in 2024 have since re-entered the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Available statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs) and their nationality are published on a quarterly basis in the Returns Detailed Datasets, which are available at: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The next update will be published on 28 November 2024.
Any foreign national who enters the UK in breach of a deportation order will be returned to custody to finish the remainder of their custodial sentence. Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, with a maximum sentence of five years.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Albanian nationals (a) have been sentenced to imprisonment in the last 12 months, (b) are in prison, (c) have been released in the last 12 months and (d) have been deported to Albania in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Nationality data held by courts is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice. We are therefore unable to provide information on how many Albanian nationals have been sentenced to imprisonment at court in the last 12 months. We have instead provided information on sentenced prison admissions for Albanian nationals between April 2023 and March 2024 (the latest 12 months published period). This information has been provided in the data attached.
The nationality of foreign national offenders in prison is published quarterly in table 1_Q_12 of Offender Management Statistics, with the latest data (30 June 2024) available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a1167cce1fd0da7b592c8d/Prison-population-30-June-2024.ods. As of 30 June 2024, there were 1,227 Albania nationals in HMPPS custody.
We have provided information on prisoner releases of Albanian nationals between April 2023 and March 2024 (the latest 12 months published period). This information has been provided in the data attached. Please note, not all these were released into the UK community: the number of prisoner releases includes those who were deported to Albania directly from prison, having completed their UK custodial sentence, and those who were transferred from prison to Albania to serve their prison sentence there.
Information on deportations is a matter for the Home Office.
Foreign nationals who commit crimes should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced, and where appropriate the Government will pursue their deportation and ensure the rules are respected and enforced. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. The Government have already begun delivering a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to remove people with no right to be in the UK, with 3,000 people already being returned since the new government came into power.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of cocaine that arrived in the UK in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024 to date, as a result of Balkan drug gangs and their criminal networks; and what steps they are taking, together with European partners, to (a) end the illegal activities associated with Balkan drug dealers, and (b) disrupt the supply of cocaine across Europe.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Illegal drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is committed to tackling these harms, including drug-related gang activity.
a) Reducing the threat posed by transnational Western Balkans organised crime groups (WBOCGs) is a government priority. We intensified the cooperation with our international partners to maximise the impact of our interventions WBOCGs wherever they are. Our engagements have already resulted in strategic partnerships with countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Albania. In addition, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has well established relationships with law enforcement partners across Europe, as well as with Europol and Interpol, which include regular exchanges on organised crime with links to the Western Balkans. We are also seeking to improve criminal records sharing arrangements and law enforcement cooperation between the UK and the Western Balkan countries.
b) Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs. As part of this the Home Office has committed £300m of dedicated investment over three years (April 2022 – March 2025) to tackle every phase of the drug supply chain and make it considerably harder for criminal gangs to operate. With this funding we are supporting intelligence-led approaches to interdict and seize drugs as they cross the UK border and prevent criminal groups from bringing drugs to our streets. Across the whole of the UK, the NCA, Border Force, and local police are working in partnership, using intelligence and technology to secure our borders against drug trafficking. We are also funding upstream activity to tackle overseas drug supply, which is aimed at disrupting the criminal networks seeking to traffic illegal drugs to the UK. This includes building close enforcement partnerships with law enforcement agencies in mainland Europe.
The NCA has estimated that the UK consumes 117 tonnes of cocaine each year. We do not hold data on the amount of cocaine arriving in the UK as a result of Balkan OCGs. In the financial year ending 2023, police and Border Force seized 18.58 tonnes of powder cocaine, the second largest quantity of the substance since records began.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce over-crowding in HMP Wandsworth.
Answered by Edward Argar
In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to a formal assessment of safety and decency.
We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme to deport Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners, such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.
To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.
The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to manage prison population levels.
Answered by Edward Argar
We continue to focus on the prison capacity challenge.
To meet rising demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.
On 11 March, I announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners such as Albania and the creation of a new taskforce across the HO and MoJ to change the way we process FNO cases radically.
We have also put in place short-term measures across the prison estate to expand useable capacity, while ensuring our prisons remain safe for staff and offenders.
The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.