Offenders: Foreign Nationals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the cost to the public purse of incarcerating foreign national offenders in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sir Nicholas Dakin
We do not disaggregate prison running costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on the category of prison. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on GOV.UK alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Report and Accounts. Data on the number of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in custody is published in Offender Management Statistics quarterly on GOV.UK.
This Government is deporting more foreign national offenders than the last Conservative Government. Between 5 July 2024 and 18 May 2025, 4,436 FNOs have been returned which is 14% more than the 3,879 in the same period 12 months prior. We are also investing £5 million to 82 new FNO Specialist roles in prisons to speed up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country.
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