Written question asked by Nick Timothy (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Sarah Sackman (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the cost of providing foreign national prisoners with phone credit in the past year.

Answer

As the data collected in relation to telephone credit do not include the nationality of the prisoner, it is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

We are focused on removing foreign national offenders (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 to 31 March, deportations of FNOs were up 13% compared with the previous year, with more than 5,800 removed.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 16629
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Costs Foreign nationals Prisoners Mobile phones
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Secondary information

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