Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

How many Afghans there are within the prison population.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the prison population as part of its Offender Management Statistics Quarterly. The requested data (based on the prison population as at 31 December 2024; latest available published data) can be found at Table 1_Q_12 in the attached link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6799631cd4f0d327e77071ae/prison-population-31-Dec-2024.odsForeign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. 23% more foreign national offenders were removed during the period July 2024 to January 2025 compared with the equivalent period in 2023-24.

How many prisoners were armed forces veterans on 24 February 2025.

The most recent available data for the veterans prison population is from the 2024 edition of our annual publication on “Ex-service personnel in the prison population”, which is taken from a snapshot of the prison population on 30 June 2024. Any request for information ahead of this would give an indication of data scheduled for future publication, and so we are not able to provide the figures for 24 February 2025 at this time.As per our 2024 publication, an estimated 3.6% of the prison population declared that they had served in the armed forces (based on 1,810 out of 50,700 prisoners who provided a response to that question at point of reception into prison). The publication can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67218d8d3aa14203d06ef453/Ex-service_personnel_in_the_prison_population_2024.pdf

When she expects the inquiry into Valdo Calocane to commence.

As previously stated by the Prime Minister, the Government is committed to establishing a judge-led inquiry in relation to the issues raised by the attacks in Nottingham. Work is underway to establish the Inquiry and Ministers will update Parliament on it in due course.

How many prisoners are serving life sentences of detention for crimes committed when they were under the age of 18.

The data requested is not held centrally and would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

What steps the Government has taken to block mobile phone signals for contraband mobile phones held by prisoners across the prison estate.

HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to tackling the threat posed by illicit mobile telephones. It has a wide-ranging programme in place to prevent them from entering prisons, to detect and disrupt their use, and to investigate cases where a prisoner may have committed an offence.HMPPS uses powers under the Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Act 2012 to enable prisons to use technology to suppress the use of wireless telegraphy such as mobile phones.As part of their local security strategies, prisons are able to deploy a range of measures, but owing to security and operational sensitivities, it would not be appropriate to provide detailed information about the countermeasures that are in place.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the use of drones for smuggling (a) weapons, (b) drugs and (c) other contraband into prisons.

Drone sightings around prisons in England and Wales are of great concern and pose a major threat to security. Drone sightings around prisons increased by over 770% between 2019 and 2023 under the previous Government. We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of illegal drones that deliver contraband so that prisoners have access to a safe and stable rehabilitative environment. Our approach is multi-faceted and includes physical security countermeasures, legislation and working across Government and with international partners on this global issue.HMPPS uses targeted physical countermeasures such as improvements to windows, installing specialised netting and grills to prevent drones from successfully delivering contraband into prisons. HMPPS also conducts vulnerability assessments across the estate to understand the risk and develop and implement plans to mitigate the threat.In January 2024, Restricted Fly Zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions to disrupt illegal drone use. These restrictions make all unauthorised drone incursions a crime and support police and prison collaboration to help ensure meaningful operational responses. Those using drones to smuggle illicit items which drive violence and criminality in custody, may face up to a decade behind bars.

How many people were prosecuted for the (a) creation, (b) distribution and (c) ownership of entirely AI-generated indecent images of children in 2024.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including offences involving the possession, creation and distribution of indecent images of children. Data up to and including June 2024 is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly. However, data held centrally does not include whether the offence involved AI-generated images or use of nudifying apps. This information may be held in the court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost. In relation to images of adults, it is already a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, a sexually explicit deepfake image of an adult without consent, but not an offence to make one. The Government made a clear manifesto commitment to ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images, a central aspect of our commitment to halve the prevalence of violence against women and girls within the decade. We are bringing forward legislation to honour that commitment in the Crime and Policing Bill which will be introduced later this year, making this behaviour criminal so that perpetrators can be brought to justice.

How many (a) children and (b) adults were prosecuted for the creation of indecent images of (i) children and (ii) adults using denudifying apps in 2024.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including offences involving the possession, creation and distribution of indecent images of children. Data up to and including June 2024 is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly. However, data held centrally does not include whether the offence involved AI-generated images or use of nudifying apps. This information may be held in the court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost. In relation to images of adults, it is already a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, a sexually explicit deepfake image of an adult without consent, but not an offence to make one. The Government made a clear manifesto commitment to ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images, a central aspect of our commitment to halve the prevalence of violence against women and girls within the decade. We are bringing forward legislation to honour that commitment in the Crime and Policing Bill which will be introduced later this year, making this behaviour criminal so that perpetrators can be brought to justice.