Introduction
The Government aims to remove as many foreign national
offenders as quickly as possible to their home countries, to protect
the public, to reduce costs and to free up spaces in prison. At
the end of March 2014 there were 8,003 foreign national offenders
in prison in England and Wales, and a further 4,247 living in
the community pending removal action, having finished their sentence.
The Home Office has overall responsibility for the removal of
foreign national offenders, and works with the Ministry of Justice,
the National Offender Management Service, the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office and the police to expedite removal. The National Audit
Office estimates that in 2013-14 the cost of managing and removing
foreign national offenders was some £850 million, £100
million more than managing an equivalent number of British national
prisoners.
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