§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the policy of his Department as to the transfer of prison inmates from 853W prisons in England and Wales to prisons in other areas of the United Kingdom and overseas; and when this policy was last reviewed.
§ Mr. HowardThe Criminal Justice Act 1961 provides for prisoners, on request, to be transferred between United Kingdom jurisdictions and the Channel Islands, either permanently or temporarily. Requests are considered on an individual basis under criteria announced to Parliament on 23 November 1992,Official Report, columns 481–82.
The Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 enables the United Kingdom to enter into international agreements for the repatriation of prisoners. Along with 27 other countries, the United Kingdom has ratified the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons. In addition, we have been joined in the Commonwealth repatriation scheme by five countries and bi-lateral agreement has been concluded with Thailand.
These arrangements are kept under constant review.