Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the accommodation needs of women on remand who may not have access to housing support under the probation service.

We know women released from prison face significant barriers to securing suitable accommodation and that earlier support, whilst they are on remand, to find accommodation can help.

Women on remand are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by probation pre-release staff in prisons. We have committed to supplementing the existing support from probation staff with access to specialist accommodation, finance and debt support for all women on remand or sentenced in custody. We aim to have commenced this additional provision by the summer of this year.

In 2021, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) introduced Housing Specialists in twenty prisons, including four women’s prisons namely HMP Styal, Bronzefield, Peterborough and New Hall. The role of these specialists is to support prisons and probation in their strategic response to reducing homelessness. This includes working in partnership internally across HMPPS and externally with Local Authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and organisations contracted to provide specialist support, to develop or strengthen accommodation pathways on release from prison. We have committed to increase the number of Housing Specialists to 48 across England and Wales, including across the women’s estate.