Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Wednesday, 18 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 November 2009. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Monday, 30 November 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Foreign Nationals: Detainees

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of sentence-expired foreign nationals being held in detention under his Department's immigration powers.

Answer: The UK Border Agency continues to build upon the success we have made with the deportation and removal of foreign national prisoners. In 2008 we deported or removed a record 5,395 foreign national prisoners. The process of deportation can be delayed in a number of ways through last minute legal barriers and the documentation process is often lengthy for some nationalities.As at 1 August 2009 there were approximately 1,800 foreign national offenders detained under immigration powers who had completed their sentence and were awaiting deportation. Around 500 of those were detained under immigration powers in Her Majesty's prisons.

Secondary information