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Written Question
Prisoners' Release: Temporary Accommodation
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what performance measures his Department uses to measure the success of transitional accommodation for prison leavers.

Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50 per cent more likely to re-offend compared with those with settled accommodation: a settled place to live is a key factor in reducing re-offending, cutting crime and protecting the public.

The data collected on people leaving prison for transitional accommodation, together with data on settled accommodation three months after release, can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c10b4e90b54500143e8375/Probation_Performance_Data_Tables_2022-23.xlsx.

HMPPS Community Accommodation Service (CAS) currently provides transitional accommodation via three tiers of support, each focused on a different cohort. CAS1 (Approved Premises) is used as a public protection resource to accommodate higher-risk offenders. CAS2 provides accommodation for medium-risk defendants on bail and prisoners eligible for release under home detention curfew. CAS3 is our ground-breaking new temporary accommodation service.

HMPPS launched CAS3 in July 2021, providing up to 12 weeks’ guaranteed accommodation on release for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness, with support to move on to settled accommodation. Initially implemented in five probation regions (Yorkshire and the Humber; North West; Greater Manchester; East of England; and Kent, Surrey and Sussex), the service was rolled out to Wales in June 2022. From April 2023, the CAS3 service was operating in all probation regions in England and Wales.

Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, the proportion of prison leavers who were homeless upon release decreased by five percentage points, from 16 per cent to 11 per cent.

By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions in comparison with regions where CAS3 had yet to be implemented.


Written Question
Prisoners' Release: Temporary Accommodation
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department collects information on how many people who leave prison for transitional accommodation leave with settled accommodation.

Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50 per cent more likely to re-offend compared with those with settled accommodation: a settled place to live is a key factor in reducing re-offending, cutting crime and protecting the public.

The data collected on people leaving prison for transitional accommodation, together with data on settled accommodation three months after release, can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c10b4e90b54500143e8375/Probation_Performance_Data_Tables_2022-23.xlsx.

HMPPS Community Accommodation Service (CAS) currently provides transitional accommodation via three tiers of support, each focused on a different cohort. CAS1 (Approved Premises) is used as a public protection resource to accommodate higher-risk offenders. CAS2 provides accommodation for medium-risk defendants on bail and prisoners eligible for release under home detention curfew. CAS3 is our ground-breaking new temporary accommodation service.

HMPPS launched CAS3 in July 2021, providing up to 12 weeks’ guaranteed accommodation on release for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness, with support to move on to settled accommodation. Initially implemented in five probation regions (Yorkshire and the Humber; North West; Greater Manchester; East of England; and Kent, Surrey and Sussex), the service was rolled out to Wales in June 2022. From April 2023, the CAS3 service was operating in all probation regions in England and Wales.

Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, the proportion of prison leavers who were homeless upon release decreased by five percentage points, from 16 per cent to 11 per cent.

By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions in comparison with regions where CAS3 had yet to be implemented.


Written Question
Housing: Construction
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to increase the number of homes built on brownfield land.

Answered by Lee Rowley

We are absolutely committed to building more houses in the right places – that is why we are prioritising brownfield sites in our towns and cities that already have the infrastructure in place to support households.

We have set out our intention to introduce a ‘presumption in favour of brownfield development’ to make it harder to block building on brownfield sites. We are currently consulting on this and will report back in due course.


Written Question
Community Development Finance Institutions
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether they plan to amend the £2.5 million lending cap for wholesale Community Development Finance Institutions lending to retail Community Development Finance Institutions using the Community Investment Tax Relief.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

At Spring Budget 2023, the government increased the amounts that Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) can raise through the Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR) from £20 million to £100 million for wholesale CDFIs, and £10 million to £25 million for retail CDFIs. The amounts that CDFIs can lend to eligible businesses was also increased from £250,000 to £375,000 for non-profit distributing organisations and £100,000 to £250,000 for profit distributing organisations. The government keeps all tax reliefs under review and will monitor the impact of these changes.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Cumbria
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many established posts are filled by (a) discipline and (b) job role in South Cumbria CAMHS.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

The information requested is held by NHS England, but it is not centrally validated.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Cumbria
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many established posts are vacant by (a) discipline and (b) job role in South Cumbria CAMHS.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

The information requested is held by NHS England but is not centrally validated.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Cumbria
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have been accepted by South Cumbria CAMHS in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

The following table shows the number of referrals made received for patients aged between zero and 17 years old between December 2022 and November 2023, with data between April and November 2023 still being subject to revision:

Reporting period

Local authority

Number of referrals received in month for patients aged between zero and 17 years old at time of referral

Number of referrals received in month where patients aged between zero and 17 years old at time of referral and who have received at least one care contact any time after referral

December 2022

Cumberland

415

195

January 2023

Cumberland

465

225

February 2023

Cumberland

560

235

March 2023

Cumberland

580

230

April 2023

Cumberland

410

155

May 2023

Cumberland

545

225

June 2023

Cumberland

475

175

July 2023

Cumberland

460

175

August 2023

Cumberland

255

110

September 2023

Cumberland

360

185

October 2023

Cumberland

500

210

November 2023

Cumberland

640

210

December 2022

Westmorland and Furness

270

150

January 2023

Westmorland and Furness

365

200

February 2023

Westmorland and Furness

320

145

March 2023

Westmorland and Furness

425

220

April 2023

Westmorland and Furness

260

120

May 2023

Westmorland and Furness

320

155

June 2023

Westmorland and Furness

265

135

July 2023

Westmorland and Furness

270

125

August 2023

Westmorland and Furness

235

100

September 2023

Westmorland and Furness

310

125

October 2023

Westmorland and Furness

275

95

November 2023

Westmorland and Furness

390

110

Source: Mental Health Services Dataset, NHS England

Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
  2. For the area of South Cumbria, the former Cumbrian councils have been mapped to their new unitary local authorities with referrals based on the patient’s postcode. Cumberland Council comprises of the area formerly covered by Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland districts; and Westmorland and Furness Council comprises of the area formerly covered by Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland districts.

Written Question
Mental Health Services: Cumbria
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have been accepted by South Cumbria CAMHS in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

Information relating to children and young people was not collected prior to 2016/17. The following table shows the number of referrals received in Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness local authorities between 2016/17 and 2022/23, the latest period for which data is available:

Financial year

Local authority

Number of referrals received in year for patients aged between zero and 17 years old at time of referral

Number of referrals received in year where patients aged between zero and 17 years old at time of referral and who have received at least one care contact any time after referral

2016/17

Cumberland

250

110

2017/18

Cumberland

975

570

2018/19

Cumberland

4,030

2,520

2019/20

Cumberland

5,555

2,810

2020/21

Cumberland

5,025

2,670

2021/22

Cumberland

6,280

3,145

2022/23

Cumberland

6,140

2,795

2016/17

Westmorland and Furness

325

165

2017/18

Westmorland and Furness

1,060

670

2018/19

Westmorland and Furness

3,590

2,265

2019/20

Westmorland and Furness

4,665

2,305

2020/21

Westmorland and Furness

3,840

1,955

2021/22

Westmorland and Furness

4,370

2,270

2022/23

Westmorland and Furness

3,645

1,870

Source: Mental Health Services Dataset, NHS England

Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
  2. For the area of South Cumbria, the former Cumbrian councils have been mapped to their new unitary local authorities with referrals based on the patient’s postcode. Cumberland Council comprises of the area formerly covered by Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland districts; and Westmorland and Furness Council comprises of the area formerly covered by Barrow-in-Furness, Eden and South Lakeland districts.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Cumbria
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what crisis assessment and intervention services are available to young people under the age of 18 in South Cumbria.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has commissioned crisis and intensive support services for children and young people; this is known as the Responsive And Intensive Support Team (RAIST).

The teams work seven days a week from 8am to 8pm. The team providing support in South Cumbria has registered nurses and social workers who provide a full assessment of need and work with children and young people to develop a safety plan, risk assessment and care plan. Once this has been completed, a two-week pathway of care will be identified. The children and young people will have contact daily with the community mental health practitioners to develop new skills to support the prevention of further crisis.

Since the RAIST has been established with the north of the trust, there has been a reduction in the need for attendance to the emergency departments and admission to the paediatric wards.

For those with severe needs or in crisis, urgent mental health helplines operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, are already available in all areas of the country. They are staffed by trained mental health professionals who can provide assessment and referrals to appropriate services. These crisis lines currently take around 200,000 calls a month and received five million calls between May 2020 and April 2022.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of young people who were referred to child and adolescent mental health services waited (a) two weeks, (b) one month, (c) three months, (d) six months and (e) longer than six months for an assessment in the last 12 months.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

The following table shows the number of referrals of children and young people aged between zero and 17 years old in England in 2021/22, as well as the time waiting between referral and their second contact for the timescales available:

Number waiting between zero and four weeks

137,943

Percentage waiting between zero and four weeks

18.80%

Number of waiting between four and 12 weeks

62,037

Percentage waiting between four and 12 weeks

8.50%

Number waiting over 12 weeks

38,855

Percentage waiting over 12 weeks

5.30%

Total number

733,756

Source: NHS England

Note: These statistics are classified as experimental and should be used with caution.