Cash incentives to get foreign prisoners serving jail sentences to return to their home countries tripled from last month

Cash incentives to get foreign prisoners serving jail sentences to return to their home countries tripled from last month, the UK Border Agency revealed today.
The overall value of the pacges for foreign offenders have been cut 'due to the current economic situation'.
But the amount of cash those currently serving sentences will receive increased from £500 to £1,500, chief executive Lin Homer said.
The money is designed to be used to help cover expenses such as accommodation, business or medical treatment, she said.
It came as the Border Agency announced it is axing 5,000 more jobs on top of 1,700 already made so far this year.
Miss Homer said the amount of cash given to foreign offenders who have served their sentences also rose from last month, up from £500 to £750.
But, under the changes, returning foreign nationals will no longer receive any assistance in kind, which was worth between £2,500 and £4,500 under the old arrangements.
All foreign prisoners taking advantage of the scheme are given a £500 pre-paid card when they leave the UK.
Under the new plans, which came into force on October 1, they will now be able to contact the International Organisation for Migration within a month of returning to their home country with evidence of how they intend to use the money to claim the balance.
This will vary between an extra £250 and £1,000, depending on whether they have already served their sentence or are still behind bars.


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