Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the recent announcement to provide temporary basic accommodation to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness in five National Probation Service regions will include (1) women-only accommodation, and (2) provisions for specific support for vulnerable women with complex needs.

To reduce reoffending and provide health and wellbeing support, we are launching a new accommodation service, providing up to 12 weeks of basic temporary accommodation for prison leavers who would otherwise be homeless. This will complement the service being delivered through the new unified probation model.

Women-only accommodation provision will be made available, as required. More generally, the service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs.

This Government is clear that getting prison leavers into stable accommodation provides the platform they need to find work and access treatment for addictions and mental health problems, which reduce the risk of reoffending. Tackling all three issues together in this way – accommodation, work and treatment – could prevent thousands of people becoming victims each year and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of repeat crimes.