Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Birmingham, published on 3 November 2021, which prisons in England and Wales are covered by a prison leaver accommodation contract that does not cover (a) releases from remand, (b) immediate releases from court and (c) those released without a probation licence or supervision period.

This government is committed to reducing the risk of homelessness on release from custody. In support of this, the MoJ have published a policy framework which mandates the roles and responsibilities of both prison and probation staff in making effective referrals to Local Authorities in relation to those at risk of homelessness at this critical point.

In relation to immediate releases from Court, where an individual is homeless or at risk of homelessness at the point of sentence, the Probation Service Court Team take steps to ensure that a referral to the Local Housing Authority is undertaken.

In addition, Pre-Release teams working in prisons currently provide a service to those who are unconvicted and this includes identification of immediate resettlement needs on reception, including sustaining tenancies. These teams will remain embedded in all prisons which house those who are unconvicted, including HMP Birmingham, and their role includes planning for a potential release from Court.

Releases from HMP Birmingham of offenders who have received a custodial sentence have been falling from around 2,100 in 2015 and 2016 to 750 in 2020, which was an atypical year impacted by the Covid pandemic.  All of those who are eligible will be supported by the new Accommodation Services commissioned as part of the reforms to the Probation Service. This provision includes pre and post-release support to obtain and sustain tenancies.

A proportion of those released without a custodial sentence will receive a Community Order and therefore will be eligible for the new Accommodation Services support at that point. For those who are released without charge or the case is discontinued, Probation staff in Court will offer advice to the individual on how to make representation to their Local Authority homeless unit.

Information on what proportion of prisoners released from HMP Birmingham in a typical year will be ineligible for accommodation support on release following the full implementation of the new accommodation contract, can only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Access to stable accommodation has been identified as one of the key resettlement pathways to support people address their offending behaviour and to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.  Accommodation Services are a key element of Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) Framework, which went live on 26 June 2021. The CRS accommodation contracts provide services for prisoner released under Probation supervision and covers the entire prison estate. We are currently looking into what accommodation and rehabilitative support could additionally be provided to people in prison who are unconvicted and who are at risk of homelessness on release.