Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sexual offenders were not moved to a local resettlement prison in their area of release due to a lack of spaces available for vulnerable prisoners at those sites in each of the last three years.

This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Data on the reasons for movement of prisoners is not centrally held. To answer would involve the examination of thousands of individual records at local level.

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) endeavours to hold prisoners in establishments which keep them as close to home as possible so they can (re)build family ties, secure housing, access health services and look for work. Consideration is also given to other factors such as time to serve, offending behaviour and the access to relevant training programmes as per the requirements set out in their sentence plan.

Closeness to home is particularly important for those nearing release so they can access resettlement services. To support this, HMPPS will ensure that most prisoners are returned to their home community rehabilitation company or probation area for release where they are managed by either a contracted-out or state provider or the National Probation Service (depending on level of risk). This will provide continuity of service for offenders in custody and the community.