Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of using accommodation contracted by the Home Office to provide housing for prisoners released when they have served 40% of their sentences.

Individuals released through the Standard Determinate Sentence changes, known as SDS40, and at risk of homelessness can be referred to HMPPS’s Community Accommodation Service, which can provide up to 12-weeks temporary accommodation.

The Chief Probation Officer wrote to all Local Authority Chief Executives on 02 August sharing early data on the total volume of expected prison releases for SDS40 cases and this was followed up by a meeting with all Local Authorities. This provided a high-level estimate of the potential volumes of releases by Local Authority. The indicative figure provided was that there would be c400 individuals who were at risk of homelessness; however, through assessment and intervention by Probation, we are expecting that number will now be significantly lower.

We are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the Welsh Government to mitigate any impact on Local Authorities, as well as taking practical steps to minimise the chances that individuals are released homeless. This includes ensuring data is shared with the 49 Strategic Housing Specialists based in prisons and the Probation-based Homeless Prevention Teams to make sure plans are in place for those who need accommodation support.

We expect the vast majority to be supported by this provision, but should there not be enough, the Lord Chancellor has authorised probation directors to make use of alternative arrangements, including budget hotels, as a temporary measure for the cases that we will see in the next few weeks.