Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the deportation of (1) convicted offenders, or (2) overstayers, to countries with no, or limited, health and welfare systems, is likely to result in destitution for those individuals.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
All individuals subject to removal from the UK are provided with the opportunity to raise claims, including medical claims, which are fully considered and determined before they are returned to their country of nationality or another country.
Claims are carefully assessed on their individual merits and against a background of published country information notes and policy, which are available on Gov.UK.
The Home Office provides financial assistance through the Facilitated Return and Assisted Voluntary Return schemes to support individuals to return to their home country.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders, who having served their sentence, were subsequently deported in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Foreign offenders should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. We make every effort to ensure that a Foreign National Offender’s (FNO) removal by deportation coincides, as far as possible, with their release from prison on completion of sentence. More than 12,200 FNOs have been removed since January 2019 protecting victims and making our streets safer.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) returned from the UK in each quarter in the Immigration statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest data, published on 24 November 2022, can be found in Returns-summary-sep-2022-tables.ods (Tables Ret_02a/Ret_02b) and Detailed Returns tables (Table Ret_D03/D04). Figures relate to year ending June 2022.
We deal with significant and complex challenges when seeking to return those who have no right to be in the UK to their country of origin or lawful place of return. These challenges can include travel documentation, late applications, late appeals and broader non-compliance with a lawful returns process. The Nationality and Borders Act will make it easier and quicker to remove FNOs and those with no right to be in the UK. The new legislation extends the period an FNO can be removed from prison under the early removal scheme (ERS) from a maximum of 9 months to 12 months, providing the minimum requisite period has been served. The Act will also streamline the appeals process by introducing an expanded One Stop Process aimed at reducing the extent to which people can frustrate removals through sequential or unmeritorious claims, appeals or legal action.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign nationals serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) were released under the Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) in the financial years (1) 2020/2021, and (2) 2021/2022; how long was the tariff for each prisoner; and how many years beyond tariff each prisoner had served at point of release.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) applies to foreign national offenders serving an indeterminate sentence. Section 32A of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 provides the Secretary of State with the power to approve the removal of a prisoner for the purposes of deportation once the minimum tariff date has expired and without the Parole Board directing release. A prisoner is not released from their sentence and is liable to continue to serve the sentence if they return to the UK.
There were six foreign national offenders serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) removed under TERS, three in each financial year. The tariff lengths for these prisoners were one of ten years, three of eight years, and two of seven years. Four prisoners were removed between one- and two-years post-tariff and two were removed less than one-year post-tariff. The data apply solely to IPP offenders and only include those cases where the Home Office has confirmed their removal.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the case of former soldier Joram Nechironga.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We do not routinely comment on individual cases. Under the UK Borders Act 2007, the Home Secretary is required by law to issue a deportation order for any foreign national who has received a custodial sentence in the UK of at least 12 months, unless an exception applies.
All foreign national offenders are provided with the opportunity to raise claims against their deportation. Any representations received are carefully considered on an individual basis and determined before a person is returned.
We only ever return individuals to their country of origin when the Home Office and, where applicable, the Courts, considers they have no legal right to remain in the UK and where it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much it costs to hold an individual under immigration powers in prison, per person per night.
Answered by Simon Baynes
The average cost to detain an individual in immigration detention is provided on a per day basis. The current daily cost per individual in immigration detention, which includes individuals held under immigration powers in the prison estate, is £107.23. Data can be found at the link: Immigration Enforcement data: Q1 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained under immigration powers in a prison at the end of their sentence in 2021; and how many of those people were subsequently released back into the community at the end of their period of detention.
Answered by Simon Baynes
The Home Office publishes statistics on people entering, leaving and in immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of people in detention at the end of each quarter are in table Det_02 of the ‘Detention detailed datasets’ and can be broken down by place of detention including by ‘H M Prisons’ with the latest data relating to the end of March 2022.
Data on in detention counts the number of people in detention on the last day of the period (e.g. 31 December).
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.
The number of people leaving detention by reason for leaving are in table Det_04a of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the number of people leaving detention by last place of detention (including ‘H M Prisons’) are in table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the latest data relating to the year ending March 2022.
Last place of detention does not show where an individual spent their time in detention. In some cases, an individual may have spent a period of time detained elsewhere before being moved to their last place of detention.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the negotiations between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office regarding the approximately 1,000 foreign GPs working for the NHS who are threatened with deportation because they do not meet the requirements of the skilled worker scheme.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Deportation relates to the removal from the UK of Foreign Nationals who are serious or persistent criminal offenders. It is wrong to suggest 1,000 foreign national GPs fall within this category or to imply they have been threatened with this by the Home Office. We therefore would not be having any negotiations with the Department for Health and Social Care on this basis.
General Practitioner (GP) is a role which qualifies for the Skilled Worker Visa, in particular the Health and Care visa which makes it easier, cheaper, and quicker for health workers – including GPs - to come to the UK to work compared to other immigration routes. This route also exempts them from the need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
The Home Office works with employers in the sector to ensure they can recruit under the Skilled Worker route by becoming a licensed sponsor, with tens of thousands of employers having done so, including many small and medium size businesses. Those who are licensed sponsors can recruit for any role which qualifies for the Skilled Worker Visa.
Asked by: Lord Parekh (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether citizens of Commonwealth countries may be deported after serving custodial sentences for criminal offences in the UK; and if so, what assessment they have made of the effect of this policy on UK residents who arrived from Commonwealth countries before 1973 and may therefore be without documentation of their residential status.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Commonwealth citizens convicted of a crime in the UK and given a prison sentence will be considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Deportation will be pursued where it is conducive to the public good including where a person receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, commits an offence that caused serious harm or is a persistent offender. Section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971 provides an exemption from deportation for Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK on 1 January 1973 and ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 5 years before the decision to make a deportation order. The onus is on the person claiming an exemption under section 7 to prove they meet the criteria.
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of challenges to deportations of foreign national offenders by her Department have been successful in each year over the last 10 years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The British public should be in no doubt of this Government’s determination to remove criminals to protect both their victims and to make our streets safer and is fully committed to discharging the obligation under the UK Borders Act 2007, which is that a non-British citizen convicted of an offence in the United Kingdom and sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment, and to whom an exception does not apply, be deported from the UK. All FNOs are provided an opportunity to make submissions against their deportation which are fully considered and determined upon before deportation, including, where applicable, via the Courts. We have recently brought forward the Nationality and Borders Act to help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data relating to all appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC). The latest statistical quarterly release can be found here:
Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Additionally, the Home Office published a one-off statistical note release on 22 February 2022, which relates to human rights appeals brought by foreign national offenders (FNOs) and specifically those allowed on human rights grounds at the First-tier Tribunal. The data includes information management between April 2008 and June 2021.
Published research shows that most FNOs who left detention in 2017, having claimed asylum while in immigration detention, did not have their claim upheld - only 2% of asylum applicants were granted leave to remain at the initial decision, whereas 92% were not and 5% are awaiting a decision.
Issues raised by people facing return in immigration detention - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) These figures reveal a system open to abuse and are clear evidence of the need for reform. That is why the Nationality and Borders Act makes provisions to streamline the appeals process by introducing an expanded one stop process aimed at reducing the extent to which people can frustrate removals through sequential or unmeritorious claims, appeals or legal action.
Further information can be found in the New Plan for Immigration: policy statement (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and the factsheet Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Mark Harper (Conservative - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many challenges of deportations of foreign national offenders by her Department have been successful for offenders with sentences of (a) less than one year custodial sentence, (b) one to four years custodial sentence and (c) more than four years custodial sentence in each year over the last 10 years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The British public should be in no doubt of this Government’s determination to remove criminals to protect both their victims and to make our streets safer and is fully committed to discharging the obligation under the UK Borders Act 2007, which is that a non-British citizen convicted of an offence in the United Kingdom and sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment, and to whom an exception does not apply, be deported from the UK. All FNOs are provided an opportunity to make submissions against their deportation which are fully considered and determined upon before deportation, including, where applicable, via the Courts. We have recently brought forward the Nationality and Borders Act to help end the cycle of last-minute claims and appeals that can delay removals
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data relating to all appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FTTIAC). The latest statistical quarterly release can be found here:
Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Additionally, the Home Office published a one-off statistical note release on 22 February 2022, which relates to human rights appeals brought by foreign national offenders (FNOs) and specifically those allowed on human rights grounds at the First-tier Tribunal. The data includes information management between April 2008 and June 2021.
Published research shows that most FNOs who left detention in 2017, having claimed asylum while in immigration detention, did not have their claim upheld - only 2% of asylum applicants were granted leave to remain at the initial decision, whereas 92% were not and 5% are awaiting a decision.
Issues raised by people facing return in immigration detention - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) These figures reveal a system open to abuse and are clear evidence of the need for reform. That is why the Nationality and Borders Act makes provisions to streamline the appeals process by introducing an expanded one stop process aimed at reducing the extent to which people can frustrate removals through sequential or unmeritorious claims, appeals or legal action.
Further information can be found in the New Plan for Immigration: policy statement (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and the factsheet Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)