Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners were released without a fixed address from each prison in financial year 2015-2016.

Information relating to the proportion of prisoners who were released from each prison without a fixed address between 2015 and 2016 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government has now decided that because of public health and public protection considerations, there is a need to provide accommodation for prison leavers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Justice has secured appropriate funding for a time-limited period to support the provision of accommodation for all individuals released from prison during this period, who are at risk of homelessness. The temporary accommodation scheme will run until 26th June at which point it will be reviewed, taking account of the situation at that time. This is an exceptional measure reflecting the current challenges. Additionally, we are also working in collaboration with other government departments and interested parties to help to secure a range of accommodation options for prisoners on their release.

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 further develop how we can improve the accommodation offer for those with a history of offending.