Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the money given to women leaving prison in line with inflation.

HMPPS recognises the importance of addressing issues around female offending and supporting women when they are leaving prison to deliver effective rehabilitation and better protect the public. This commitment is underpinned by the Female Offender Strategy published by the Government in June 2018 and more recently, reinforced by the Concordat on Women in or at risk of contact with the Criminal Justice System published in January 2021.

More widely, all eligible prison leavers are provided with a Discharge Grant of £46 and all prison leavers are given a travel warrant or fares paid to their destination within the UK. An additional payment of up to £50 may also be paid directly to a genuine accommodation provider to help the prison leaver secure a release address.

The Government is reviewing the discharge policy to make sure prison leavers receive adequate financial support in the first few days after release and before they might reasonably be able to access other legal sources of income such as applying for state benefits.