Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been assessed by Community Rehabilitation Companies and National Probation Services for a resettlement plan in the 12 weeks prior to release from prison in each of the last three years.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Department regularly publishes data showing the percentage of offenders who have had a resettlement plan written by Community Rehabilitation Companies (SLM013). The latest release can be found via the following link;

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-performance-quarterly-update-to-september-2018

It is vital that everyone leaving prison has somewhere safe, stable and secure to live. Overcoming the many barriers offenders face to securing suitable accommodation is something that Ministry of Justice cannot do in isolation.

The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government are both members of the cross-Government Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Taskforce and the Reducing Reoffending Board. Homelessness of ex-offenders is a key issue that is discussed at these meetings.

Through this work, we are investing up to £6.4m in a joint pilot scheme to support individuals released from three prisons, namely Bristol, Leeds and Pentonville. We have now launched our Invitation to Tender, to secure suppliers in the three pilot areas. This is a concrete step in our commitment to tackling rough sleeping.