Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

(asked on 20th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2020 to Question 61688, if his Department will extend the accommodation support scheme for prison leavers beyond 31 July 2020.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 28th July 2020

The Government has exceptionally secured funding of up to £8.5m to provide accommodation for those released from prison, who are at risk of homelessness during the COVID-19 period. This emergency funding is available for a time-limited period to support this process. The temporary accommodation scheme initially ran from 18 May until 26 June at which point it was reviewed and the decision taken to extend to the 31July. We will continue to keep the operation of the scheme under review and extend it past the 31 July if the public health and public protection risks warrant it.

This project will help ensure vulnerable ex-offenders at risk of homelessness will get the vital support they need to stay safe during the COVID-19 period and find suitable accommodation and continue their rehabilitation during the pandemic. This will help improve outcomes for ex-offenders and increase the chances of seeing fewer victims of crime in the future.

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