Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s announcement of 29 January, £70 million to keep prison leavers off the streets and cut crime, which prisons will receive funding for support to enable quicker access to accommodation, healthcare and employment support services as they are released; and how much each prison will receive.

Sixteen prisons will receive additional education focused resource to support employment outcomes, or resource to enable quicker access for prison leavers to accommodation, healthcare, or employment support services on release. Prisons have initially been grouped to lead on specific themes:

Employment & Accommodation

HMP Bullingdon

HMP Elmley

HMP Forest Bank

HMP Kirkham

HMP Leeds

HMP Norwich

HMP Risley

HMP Wandsworth

Substance Misuse

HMP Durham

HMP Guys Marsh

HMP Stocken

Education

HMP Bristol

HMP Lincoln

HMP Swaleside

Employment, Accommodation, Substance Misuse & Education

HMP Berwyn

HMP New Hall

We will be investing up to £4m worth of funding over 2021/22, spread across these prisons. This is in addition to the minimum of £20 million investment in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary basic accommodation for up to 12 weeks, giving them the foundation for a crime-free life. Launching in five of the 12 National Probation Service regions, it will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year. While there, offenders will get help to find a permanent home so there is less reason for them to turn back to crime.