To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed by the UK Border Agency dedicated specialist team to deal with foreign prisoners not considered for deportation in each month since March 2006; and what the operating costs of this team were in each such month. (227004)

The specialist team dedicated to considering for deportation the 1,013 foreign criminals who were released without consideration for deportation prior to April 2006 form part of the wider Criminal Casework Directorate, which is in turn part of the UK Border Agency. Historical staffing numbers and operational costs are held for the Criminal Casework Directorate, but are not broken down to account for its constituent teams, due to the sharing of administrative and other supportive functions.