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Written Question
Prisoners' Release: Homelessness
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of temporarily housing acquitted remand prisoners who are homeless.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government inherited a prison system in crisis, in which the remand prison population has risen to record highs. We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure this is effectively managed, including looking at resettlement support to those who have served a period of time on remand and were subsequently acquitted. The rehabilitation contracts for specialist accommodation support have been extended to include remanded and unsentenced people in prison, including those who are un-convicted, held on remand and then acquitted. We know that a settled place to live is key to help people reintegrate with communities and reduce the likelihood of reoffending, as prison leavers without settled accommodation on release are almost 50 percent more likely to reoffend than those with settled accommodation.

Data on accommodation outcomes on release from prison are published annually and include total releases and settled accommodation outcomes. Monthly and annual data for the period April 2019 – March 2024 is in the ‘Housed on Release from Custody’ tables, available here: Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK. The data for April 2024 - March 2025 is due for publication in July 2025.

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. An individual’s risk of serious harm level is determined in accordance with the Risk of Serious Harm guidance, available here: Risk of Serious Harm Guidance. In the year to March 2024, 4.7% of the total caseload of offenders were high risk of harm offenders and released homeless or rough sleeping.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.


Written Question
Prisoners' Release
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison leavers there were (a) in total and (b) in permanent homes in April (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government inherited a prison system in crisis, in which the remand prison population has risen to record highs. We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure this is effectively managed, including looking at resettlement support to those who have served a period of time on remand and were subsequently acquitted. The rehabilitation contracts for specialist accommodation support have been extended to include remanded and unsentenced people in prison, including those who are un-convicted, held on remand and then acquitted. We know that a settled place to live is key to help people reintegrate with communities and reduce the likelihood of reoffending, as prison leavers without settled accommodation on release are almost 50 percent more likely to reoffend than those with settled accommodation.

Data on accommodation outcomes on release from prison are published annually and include total releases and settled accommodation outcomes. Monthly and annual data for the period April 2019 – March 2024 is in the ‘Housed on Release from Custody’ tables, available here: Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK. The data for April 2024 - March 2025 is due for publication in July 2025.

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. An individual’s risk of serious harm level is determined in accordance with the Risk of Serious Harm guidance, available here: Risk of Serious Harm Guidance. In the year to March 2024, 4.7% of the total caseload of offenders were high risk of harm offenders and released homeless or rough sleeping.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.


Written Question
Prisoners' Release: Homelessness
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many high risk prison leavers have no fixed address.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government inherited a prison system in crisis, in which the remand prison population has risen to record highs. We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure this is effectively managed, including looking at resettlement support to those who have served a period of time on remand and were subsequently acquitted. The rehabilitation contracts for specialist accommodation support have been extended to include remanded and unsentenced people in prison, including those who are un-convicted, held on remand and then acquitted. We know that a settled place to live is key to help people reintegrate with communities and reduce the likelihood of reoffending, as prison leavers without settled accommodation on release are almost 50 percent more likely to reoffend than those with settled accommodation.

Data on accommodation outcomes on release from prison are published annually and include total releases and settled accommodation outcomes. Monthly and annual data for the period April 2019 – March 2024 is in the ‘Housed on Release from Custody’ tables, available here: Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK. The data for April 2024 - March 2025 is due for publication in July 2025.

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. An individual’s risk of serious harm level is determined in accordance with the Risk of Serious Harm guidance, available here: Risk of Serious Harm Guidance. In the year to March 2024, 4.7% of the total caseload of offenders were high risk of harm offenders and released homeless or rough sleeping.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.


Written Question
Prisoners Release: Homelessness
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were released without details held of a fixed address is the last 12 months.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. Outcomes against these accommodation categories in 2023-24 can be found in Table 2 of the ‘Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables’ which form part of the Offender Accommodation Outcomes publication (Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK).  The notes that accompany the tables provide definitions for each accommodation category.

Data on the number of people who re-offended who are homeless are published as part of the Proven Reoffending Quarterly Statistics Bulletin. Details can be found in Table C3 at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f7c4b34853837d7fc4097/proven-reoffending-oct22-dec22-3-monthly.ods.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation Service, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.


Written Question
Reoffenders: Homelessness
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who reoffended were homeless in each of the last three years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Accommodation outcomes for prison leavers are recorded against the categories of settled accommodation, other housed, bail/probation accommodation, homeless (not rough sleeping) and rough sleeping, rather than ‘no fixed address’. Outcomes against these accommodation categories in 2023-24 can be found in Table 2 of the ‘Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables’ which form part of the Offender Accommodation Outcomes publication (Offender Accommodation Outcomes, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK).  The notes that accompany the tables provide definitions for each accommodation category.

Data on the number of people who re-offended who are homeless are published as part of the Proven Reoffending Quarterly Statistics Bulletin. Details can be found in Table C3 at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/671f7c4b34853837d7fc4097/proven-reoffending-oct22-dec22-3-monthly.ods.

Prison leavers at risk of becoming homeless and who are supervised by probation can be offered up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation on release by HM Prisons and Probation Service, with support to move to settled accommodation. This programme has been gradually rolled out nationwide since July 2021 and since then has supported over 12,200 prison leavers who would otherwise have been homeless.


Written Question
Probation: Standards
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to improve probation services.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Probation Service plays a crucial role in protecting the public and reducing reoffending. We are strengthening probation by building a supported, skilled and resilient workforce that can deliver high quality supervision, focused on the areas of highest risk, and delivered within manageable caseloads. In recognition of this, we are onboarding at least 1,000 new trainee Probation Officers by the end of March 2025, diversifying entry pathways into the service, and supporting targeted recruitment campaigns to boost applications for key roles and reduce hiring time.

The Government is committed to learning from successful examples of local partnerships, supporting the whole service to improve join-up and deliver better outcomes. We are continuously assessing the service and are prepared to take further steps to support the service to deliver, including exploring how technology can be used improve efficiency.


Written Question
Prisons: Standards
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons were rated good for rehabilitation and release planning by inspectors from April 2023 to April 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

This Government has inherited a prison system in crisis, and this has been reflected in the inspections conducted by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons. Between 1 April 2023 and 30 April 2024. Prior to the arrival of the current Government, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons published eight adult prison inspection reports that scored ‘good’ against the preparation for release (formally rehabilitation and release planning) Healthy Prison Test (HPT) and one under 18 establishment received a score of ‘good’ against the equivalent youth HPT outcome of resettlement. This is out of a total of 49 published inspections during that period.


Written Question
Prisoners' Release
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prison leavers are recalled to prison for (a) breach of licence conditions and (b) other behaviour.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Details of the number of offenders released and those recalled, including the reasons for recall, are published quarterly Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

The Government’s absolute focus is on public protection. Offenders on licence can be swiftly recalled to prison if they breach their licence conditions.


Written Question
Probation: Staff
Friday 29th November 2024

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers work in the justice system.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Information on staffing numbers of directly employed staff in HM Prison and Probation Service in England and Wales is published quarterly on GOV.UK.

The most recent data can be found at: HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly: September 2024 - GOV.UK.


Written Question
Courts
Tuesday 12th September 2023

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help prevent the cancellation of court hearings at short notice.

Answered by Mike Freer

The trend in Crown Court vacated (i.e. cancelled) trials is improving. Following the Crown Court Improvement Group update in January, we have seen 27% fewer vacated trials compared to the same period before the Bar Strike.

While short notice postponements are undesirable, they are not always avoidable.

Judges are responsible for listing. Most cases that are vacated are done so in excess of 10 days from hearing date, as we always aim to keep short notice postponements to a minimum.