Early Release Prisoners: Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

Lord Ashcombe Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashcombe (Con)]

My Lords, like all other noble Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend Lord Farmer for securing this important debate. I thank him for continuing to draw attention to the vital link between successful rehabilitation and stable accommodation.

This issue sits at the intersection of housing and criminal justice. If we are serious about reducing reoffending, protecting the public and ensuring that people who have served their sentence can rebuild their lives, we must recognise that a safe and stable home is often the foundation upon which all other progress depends. A person leaving prison with nowhere to go is placed in an extremely difficult position. Without accommodation, it becomes harder to secure employment, maintain contact with the Probation Service, access healthcare or establish a stable routine. These challenges affect not only the individual but our communities and, ultimately, public safety.

The Government’s own figures demonstrate the scale of the challenge. As many other noble Lords have said, in 2024-25 around 1,000 prisoners each month were released and found themselves sleeping rough on the night of release. That is a deeply concerning outcome, and it raises serious questions about how effectively services are working together to support people as they transition back into the community.

This debate is not suggesting that the answer is simply to provide housing without expectation or responsibility. A Conservative approach is always to balance compassion with accountability and to believe in a firm but fair system. Prison exists to protect the public and punish those who break the law. However, punishment and rehabilitation are not opposing objectives. Successful rehabilitation is one of the strongest tools we have to prevent future victims of crime. That is why partnership matters. Prisons, probation services and local authorities all have responsibilities in helping prevent homelessness among prison leavers.

The duty to refer, introduced through the Homelessness Reduction Act, recognised that criminal justice agencies cannot operate in isolation from housing services. The question we must ask is whether those arrangements are working effectively enough in practice. Too often, responsibility becomes fragmented. One agency may identify a need, another may provide support, and a third may have statutory responsibilities. Yet unless those organisations are working to a shared plan, the individual leaving prison can fall through the gaps. That is particularly important when considering early-release arrangements. If the state decides to release someone into the community earlier than anticipated, there must be a confidence that the basic foundations of resettlement are in place.

There are three areas where a greater focus would be beneficial. First, intervention must begin earlier. Housing needs should not be considered only in the final days before release. For many prisoners, accommodation planning should begin at the start of the sentence, giving time to address issues such as previous tenancies, family relationships and support needs. Secondly, there should be stronger local accountability. We should be asking not only whether referrals are being made but whether they are resulting in sustainable accommodation outcomes. Thirdly, we should continue to support employers, charities—which, as we heard from so many noble Lords, are important—and social enterprises that help prison leavers return to productive lives. Stable housing and stable employment often go hand in hand.

Communities rightly expect that those leaving prison are properly supervised and supported. Effective resettlement is therefore not just about helping offenders but preventing further crime and making our streets safer. In that regard, I know that the Minister comes to this debate with significant background in this field. Through his work employing former offenders and supporting rehabilitation, he has long argued that people leaving prison should be given a chance to turn their lives around. The House greatly acknowledges the contribution he has made in that area. I therefore ask the Minister: what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of current partnership arrangements between prisons and local authorities? Does he believe that existing duties are sufficient, or are further measures required to ensure that no prisoner leaves custody without a clear and realistic accommodation plan? Preventing homelessness among prison leavers is not a soft option; it is a practical measure to protect the public, reduce pressure on public services and ensure that rehabilitation has the best possible chance of success. I look forward to the Minister’s response.