§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Italian nationals are currently being held in prison in Britain on drugs-related charges; and what plans there are for repatriating them to Italy to complete their sentences or to receive treatment.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Gareth Wardell, dated 25 November 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners of Italian nationality imprisoned on drugs related charges and the plans that exist for them to be repatriated to Italy to complete their sentence or for them to receive medical treatment.On 30 September 1994, there were four Italian nationals in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under sentence for drugs offences excluding fine defaulters; a further two had no specific offence recorded.The Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 provides for the transfer of prisoners between the United Kingdom and foreign jurisdictions subject to the existence of an international agreement for this. Both the United Kingdom and Italy have ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the transfer of sentenced persons and this enables prisoners to transfer between the two jurisdictions in order to serve their sentences close to home.