Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have left prison without having secured an (a) income and (b) home in the last 12 months; and what steps are being taken to reduce this number.

Matched MOJ-DWP data indicates that 17% of those released from custody in 2011/12 were in P45 employment one year after release. More recent data from 2014/15 indicates that at a national level, 26.5% of prisoners were entering employment upon release, but this data was self-reported. In 2016/17, 30% of adult prisoners under CRC supervision were discharged to unsettled or unknown accommodation on their first night of release.

We believe that everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release; having somewhere to live gives people a stable platform from which to access health services, hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of them reoffending. We also recognise the impact that employment on release has on the likelihood of a person reoffending, so we remain committed to offering better support to ex-offenders in all areas, including employment and accommodation.

As a result of the probation reforms, all offenders now get targeted support before and after they leave prison to help them reintegrate into society. This comprises of help with securing or retaining employment, and working with local partners to help them find accommodation including, where necessary, emergency accommodation. Local authorities are statutorily responsible for working with and supporting an individual in order to assist them into securing settled accommodation.

We are planning the New Futures Network which will focus on getting prisoners jobs on release by supporting empowered governors to broker relationships between prisons and employers more effectively. We are also working with DWP to clarify the roles and responsibilities of those bodies involved in offender rehabilitation. We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver a joint strategy to improve access to housing for those being released from prison.