Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Feryal Clark (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 July 2026. It was answered by Sarah Sackman (Labour) on Friday, 24 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Deportation and Immigration: Appeals

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to fast-track immigration and deportation cases in which offenders have prolonged proceedings through appeals lasting more than three years.

Answer

The Ministry of Justice is only able to collect data on the timeliness of appeals; it does not record or hold information related to an appellant’s previous convictions or offending, or how long the overall deportation process takes.

We have taken steps to speed up appeals brought by Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The latest figures show that, in 2025/26, the average time taken from receipt to disposal was 36 weeks for Detained HM Prison appeals and 16 weeks for Detained Immigration Removal Centre appeals, compared with 43 weeks and 20 weeks respectively in 2023/24 (Source: DIA_dataset_2025-26_Q4.ods). Further, we will shortly commence the 24-week statutory timeframe for appeals from those in supported accommodation and non-detained FNOs liable to deportation, as legislated in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025.

Since the July 2024 election, there have been 9,805 removals of FNOs, to end of March 2026. This is 36% up on the 7,185 returns from the previous 21 months from October 2022 to June 2024.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
18176
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Appeals Deportation Immigration
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk