Prisoners' Release: Females

(asked on 16th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of appointing designated prison officers to act as brokers for housing in women’s prisons.


Answered by
Alex Chalk Portrait
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This question was answered on 25th June 2021

We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending. It is vital that we do so to better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. This includes supporting women when they are leaving prison.

As part of our commitment to eliminate rough sleeping, we are working across Government with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Welsh Government and Other Government Departments, to address the barriers offenders face in securing suitable accommodation.

In January, we announced a £70 million investment in accommodation and wider support for prison leavers to cut crime. An integral aspect of that announcement related to the appointment of specialist housing advisor role in up to twenty prisons, four of which are female prisons: HMPs New Hall, Peterborough, Bronzefield and Styal. These specialists will act as brokers for prisoners so that they can get quicker access to accommodation services as they are released.

These specialists will seek to improve accommodation outcomes for those being released from prison by strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders to identify and unlock any barriers which prevent access to related services or accommodation on release. In addition, they will work with both prison and probation staff to raise understanding and knowledge of housing legislation and issues, including any specific challenges female offenders face accessing accommodation.

We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five national probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing in Summer. It will be in operation during the next financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally, though the Spending Review 2021 will set out the approach for future years.

The Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) scheme was launched in the women’s estate on 30th April 2021. The bespoke model recognises the different challenges and opportunities of working with women where self-harm and complex needs are of significant concern. Both key work and case management time will be allocated to women based on their level of need in addition to their risk of harm. Women with the most need will receive an enhanced offender management service, with additional engagement time between Prison Offender Manager (POM) and prisoner taking place.

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