Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals are currently serving custodial sentences in prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards
A breakdown of foreign national offenders (FNOs) by custody type is regularly published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly series. The latest published data can be found within table 1.Q.10 of the prison population tables, showing a snapshot of the population as at 31 March 2026. It can be accessed via the following link:
This Government is focused on removing FNOs to protect the public and ease the burden on taxpayers. We have already changed the law so that most foreign prisoners can be deported after serving 30% of their prison time, rather than 50%.
In the year ending 31 March 2026 deportations of FNOs, including murderers and rapists, were up 13% compared with the previous year, with more than 5,800 removed.
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