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| Better planning required to deport foreign prisoners, says MP |
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“However, there are not enough detention spaces available for all failed asylum applicants.” “Keeping foreign criminals in jail here even though they should not be in the UK at all simply transfers the problem to the already overcrowded prison estate. As soon as a foreign criminal begins a prison term, plans should be made for removing him from the country as soon as his sentence is completed. Where appropriate, the authorities should arrange for a prisoner to serve the sentence in his home country.” Mr Bacon was speaking as the Commons public accounts committee published its report into the management of asylum applications. The report finds that detention is important in ensuring that failed asylum applicants can be removed from the UK expeditiously once their case is decided. However, the Home Office has fewer detention spaces than it needs, due both to a lack of physical capacity and also to the large number of spaces occupied by foreign national prisoners awaiting deportation. It will be another four years before the Department has the total of 4,000 detention spaces that it needs to increase removals to optimum levels. The report also finds that foreign national prisoners awaiting removal are often held in detention spaces that would otherwise be used for failed asylum seekers awaiting removal. The Home Office considered the only alternative to the use of its detention space for foreign national prisoners would be to keep them in prison, which blocks prison spaces. 16 June 2009 |
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| © Richard Bacon 2010 | ||||||
PAC REPORT: