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Written question asked by Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 June 2026 (named day). It was answered by Alex Norris (Labour) on Thursday, 4 June 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals in Northern Ireland prisons, broken down by (a) nationality, (b) sentence status, (c) offence type and (d) immigration status.

Answer

The management and operational delivery of prisons in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

The specific information you have requested regarding the foreign national prison population is not available from published Home Office statistics.

However, all foreign nationals who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation consideration at the earliest opportunity by the respective prison service, irrespective of their immigration status. There has been an increase in the return of foreign national offenders (FNOs) by 36%, with almost 10,000 FNOs being returned since this Government came to power.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4458
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Foreign nationals Northern Ireland Prisoners
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk