VerbatimParliament, as it happens

Prisoners' Release: Foreign Nationals

Asked by Sir John HayesConservativeMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 10 November 2025UIN 86992

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the nationalities were of the non-British nationals released from prison under the Standard Determinate Sentences 40 releases that took place between September 2024 and December 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. On 10 September 2024, the Government therefore took the unavoidable step to move the release point for certain standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40% (‘SDS40’).

We have published SDS40 release data alongside the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency.

Please find statistics on overall prison population nationality here: Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.

Please find statistics on SDS40 release nationality here: Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40) : September 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

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