Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of offenders on probation housed in Approved Premises.

Approved Premises (formerly known as probation or bail hostels) are used to provide enhanced supervision for higher-risk offenders who have been released from prison after completing the custodial part of their sentence. They also house a small number of defendants on bail. My Department is analysing the capacity and distribution of the Approved Premises estate to establish whether more places are needed.