Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on women otherwise eligible for release from prison on a temporary license not being so released as a result of secure accommodation not being available during the covid-19 outbreak.

In response to the current unprecedented situation, on 4 April the Government announced that risk-assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date will be considered for temporary release from prison, under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme.

Prisoner releases are being phased over time to ensure stringent risk assessments can be carried out and that the required support for offenders is in place. No prisoner will be released without housing and health support being in place. All prisoners released under this scheme are eligible for an enhanced subsistence grant to reflect that these individuals will not have had the full amount of time and resources they would usually have had to prepare for release.

Additionally, pregnant women and prisoners living on mother and baby units will also be considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds during this period. Pregnant women and prisoners with babies in custody are being assessed case by case, and so the specific needs of each woman are considered before release is authorised.

Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPTs) have been established in each area of England and in Wales to address accommodation needs during these exceptional and extremely challenging times. There is also a strong link with voluntary sector providers to ensure that providers with accommodation are able to link with HPTs to ensure that they are aware of vacancies that are available.

Prison establishments and Through the Gate teams are actively engaging in ensuring that proposed release accommodation is appropriate for the needs of the women. Where a proposed address is assessed as unsuitable women are supported to find alternative accommodation via the HPTs.

Local Authorities continue to have a duty to try and prevent or relieve homelessness for all eligible homeless households under the Homelessness Reduction Act, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area.

Whilst our immediate concern is to support those individuals released from prison into suitable accommodation, in the long-term we will analyse the lessons learned during this period, to develop how we can improve the accommodation offer for those with a history of offending.