Nationalities of foreign criminals in Scotland to be published by end of year

Ministers had hoped to publish the data sooner, but officials have now raised concerns over issues over data quality.

The Home Office announced work was being done to improve data processes on the group of offenders before it can be used for statistics. These include analysis such as the crimes they have been convicted of, the length of their sentence and nationality.

Work to improve recording data on foreign national offenders (FNOs) and an upgrade to the management information system is “currently under way” amid efforts to boost transparency on the issue. Once published, the figures will include Scotland.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Once these changes have been completed, our ability to provide accurate extracts and more detailed information will be significantly improved.

“By the end of 2025, if this work progresses as planned, the Home Office proposes to publish more detailed statistical reporting on FNOs subject to deportation and those returned to countries outside of the UK.”

The Home Office will continue to publish summary information on foreign criminals being returned to their home countries each quarter, as well as further breakdowns on type of offences committed or nationality in “experimental statistics”.

Government sources have insisted the move was only possible because UK home secretary Yvette Cooper had ordered Home Office statisticians to overhaul their systems after they cited poor data quality when refusing to answer questions about the nationalities of foreign offenders.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the announcement showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest figures show there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of last year - up from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July 2024 and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

This rise came despite 3,594 offenders being deported in Labour’s first nine months in office - a 16 per cent increase on the same period in the previous 12 months.

A Home Office source said: “Any foreign national who abuses our country’s hospitality and commits serious crimes should be in no doubt that they will face the full force of the law, and be removed from the UK at the earliest opportunity.

“But we also want to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed, which is why – for the first time – ministers have tasked officials specifically with producing a greater range of data on this category of offenders, and ensuring that data is published in future in an open and transparent way.”

Scottish Labour MP Chris Murray claimed the information could boost public confidence in the immigration system.

The Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MP said: “It’s so important we get migration data right, and use it effectively to improve the system and bolster public confidence in it.

“It’s right the government has been focussing on removing foreign national offenders, so the public can be confident that convicted criminals with no right to stay here won’t be allowed to. Data is part of achieving that: but it’s also robust policing, an effective criminal justice system, and good diplomatic relations with other countries.”

Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the Home Secretary can seek the removal of people who receive a lesser sentence if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.

Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael criticised the plans.

The Orkney and Shetland MP said: “If the Home Office have the spare capacity for this sort of thing I think most of us would prefer that they use it to clear immigration and asylum backlogs and get their own house in order. Resource spent on this sort of thing is resource that is not spent on frontline policing.

“The government may think this makes them look tough – with a bit of dog-whistle politics thrown in – but what matters to most people when they are a victim of crime is the crime itself, not whether the criminal was French or Malaysian.”