Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of promoting a single definition of suitable accommodation outcome for vulnerable women leaving prison.

Our Prisons White Paper sets out our vision that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless. By 2024-25 we will spend £200 million a year to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation.

Our temporary accommodation service currently provides up to 12 weeks temporary housing in five regions to prison leavers at risk of homelessness who are subject to probation supervision. The service takes account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, with accommodation provision dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, are responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and have access to additional support for women through the Women’s Commissioned Rehabilitation Service (CRS). This provision is a holistic service offer, delivered by expert and experienced women’s services, that covers a broad range of interventions including accommodation support.

Accommodation circumstances for offenders are reported annually as official statistics. Data for the period 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be published in July 2022 in the Community Performance Annual report. In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, access to these statistics before their public release is limited to those involved in the production of the statistics and the preparation of the release, and for quality assurance and operational purposes.

HMPPS worked with colleagues in Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and the Welsh Government to agree a definition of homelessness, and they continue to work with them to ensure consistency and data quality. To ensure consistent and accurate data recording, HMPPS has recently updated the Accommodation Recording Guidance to ensure Probation regions have a clear and consistent understanding of the accommodation status definitions, and how to record accurately. The Guidance defines homelessness as where an individual is rough sleeping, squatting, residing in night shelters, emergency hostels or campsites.