Early Release Prisoners: Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Timpson) (Lab)
My Lords, I begin by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for his Question, and for the opportunity to discuss these critical issues that are close to his and all our hearts. The noble Lord has long argued that, if people are to leave crime behind, we must make sure that support and stability, including a safe place to live, are waiting for them beyond the prison gates. I could not agree more. That does not just mean a bed and a roof, although that is important. It means much more than that: somewhere they can call home, feel safe, keep their belongings, receive a letter or register for a GP. Ultimately, it means somewhere they can start a new chapter in their lives. As the noble Lord, Lord Ashcombe, said, it is about dignity, stability, second chances and, above all, hope.
The evidence is clear. People released from prison without stable accommodation are more than twice as likely to reoffend as those who do. On the question from a number of noble Lords about Friday releases, progress has been made. It is a lot better than it used to be, but we still need to do more. The more stable the prison population and the way we do our releases are, the better that will become. However, it should not surprise us that it is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild your life if you do not know where you will sleep each night. That is why accommodation is an essential foundation for rehabilitation, but it is out of reach for far too many and there are no quick or simple fixes.
The first and most important thing we can do is to bring stability to the prison system. Too many offenders were trapped in a relentless cycle, locked up for short periods with little time to address their issues, released with no support and, almost inevitably, returning to prison. I am sure a number of noble Lords will have seen, as I have, people standing outside the prison gates with a plastic bag with “HMP” written on it, with a few pathetic possessions and nowhere to live that night. It is not surprising that they go back.
We are taking a different approach, built around supporting rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. We are already seeing results, with 75% of prisons and 90% of probation regions performing better. However, there is a long way to go and I am clear that we need to focus on what happens when somebody is inside prison and on what happens when they leave. As my noble friend Lady Hyde clearly said, Through the Gate work is vital, because preventing homelessness on release is not simply a housing issue; it is about public protection, rehabilitation and rebuilding lives. The example that my noble friend gave of Hayley shows just how complex it is, and also what a kind and generous person she is.
This is a challenge that the Ministry of Justice cannot solve alone; it is a team game. I am working closely with the housing sector and colleagues across government as part of our national plan to end homelessness. We inherited not just a prisons crisis but a homelessness crisis. Both rough sleeping in households and temporary accommodation more than doubled under the previous Government. This homelessness only reflects the wider pressures on housing across the country. Our national plan commits to halving the proportion of prison leavers who become homeless on their first night after release by the end of this Parliament, while increasing the number in settled accommodation after three months. There is a lot to do but they are important targets. All this is supported by record investment of £3.6 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services. These are ambitious goals, but I am ambitious and I am determined that we will meet them.
As the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, has spent years helpfully reminding us, families can make an extraordinary difference too. For many people leaving prison, it is a parent, partner, grandparent or child who gives them the strength to keep going. Strong family relationships remain one of the most powerful protections against reoffending. We know that imprisonment also has a profound impact on families, especially children, so supporting families to maintain those relationships where safe and appropriate to do so is absolutely crucial. That is why almost all public sector prisons offer specialist services to support prisoners and their families, and we are updating our policies to help prisoners do even more to strengthen family relationships. Our incredible charities and voluntary organisations, such as Housing First and Crisis, do an amazing job and play a vital role in turning people’s lives around. I must thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester for mentioning the Clink. It is a brilliant organisation and I was sad when its project near Manchester, at HMP Styal, was closed—maybe it can get going again at some point.
I recognise the innovative approaches of residential community and charity projects, such as Hope Street in Southampton and Willowdene, which provide training, counselling, therapy and work opportunities all in one place—that is really important. I have not heard of Impact Justice in California, which offers a spare room for people who need it, but it reminds me of my childhood: people used to turn up at our house because my parents knew they did not have anywhere to live and would end up staying with us, sometimes for years. This is about stability, support and providing firm foundations for people to take their next steps. The noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, mentioned the Greater Change charity—I know a little about it, but am very happy to find out more—giving small grants and small donations to support people. It often does not take much money to make a big difference.
We are making sure that nobody leaves prison without the best possible chance of making a fresh start. That begins with having somewhere safe to go and support from day one. As the noble Lord, Lord Marks, quite rightly emphasised, it is important that they get that support through the gate on day one. It means identifying housing needs earlier, improving information sharing and bringing prisons, probation and local authorities together well before someone is released, so that we are preventing homelessness, not responding to a person in crisis. We are already seeing excellent partnership working. Let me give one example: ID and banking administrators have been working in prisons for about three years now, to get everyone the documents they need. They work with the work coaches in DWP to get people on to universal credit so that they are good to go when they leave.
Too much still depends on where someone is released. A prison leaver’s chance of rebuilding their life should not depend on their postcode. I want people to receive the same high standard of support wherever they leave custody. They should be able to expect early engagement, a clear housing pathway and support that begins before they leave prison. We are using performance data to work out which areas need to improve and which areas are getting it right, so that we can learn from them. As part of this, we are working with MHCLG on new league tables which will show, by local authority, how many prison leavers end up homeless or rough sleeping on release. This will drive accountability and transparency, and I am pleased to announce that they will be published by the end of the year and then annually from next July.
We are piloting strategic housing advisory boards, along the same lines as the successful employment advisory boards I established a few years ago, to address the big systemic barriers prison leavers face when trying to find housing. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle said, it is about co-ordinating this partnership. The regional outcomes will help because we have regional employment councils, which I hope will help co-ordinate this work as well.
Alongside this, we continue to invest in accommodation support. We recently added more than 200 beds to CAS3, the service that provides up to 84 nights of accommodation support following release, but we recognise that some prison leavers face particular challenges in finding housing, especially those serving IPP sentences. We are investing in a new single accommodation service, which brings together support delivered through commissioned rehabilitation services and “duty to refer” pathways into a single digital service. This is a big shift—the equivalent of moving from the Yellow Pages to booking.com—but, if we get it right, this digital tool will improve information sharing and make sure we can match prison leavers to the right accommodation and support, so that no one reaches the prison gate only to find they have nowhere to go.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, asked how many prisoners released were over the age of 70. As of 31 March this year, 2,180 individuals held in prison in England and Wales were aged over 70, which represents 2.5% of the total prison population. Published data is not currently available on prison releases by age band. I was asked about the average stay on remand. Unfortunately, we do not currently hold this data. If there are any other questions that I have not covered, I will write.
To finish, the national plan to end homelessness includes a commitment to introduce a duty to collaborate, and we will legislate for this as soon as possible. I fear that the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, will be slightly disappointed, because it will be when parliamentary time allows. However, we all recognise how important this is and we want to get on with it. This duty will compel public services to work together to prevent homelessness by identifying need earlier, intervening sooner and supporting people at crisis point.
As I said earlier, this is a team game. If we are to turn lives around and protect the British public, we need prisons, probation services, local authorities, housing providers, charities, families and communities all working together to make sure that everyone leaving prison has the opportunity of a safe, secure and stable home. This is about more than a bed for the night; it is about changing and even saving lives. Every prison gate should open not to homelessness but to hopefulness. On the possibility of fewer victims, safer communities and a better life, I thank the noble Lord for bringing this important issue before the House and I look forward to ongoing discussions.