HC Deb 10 December 1996 vol 287 c143W
Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to monitor the type of accommodation to which prisoners are released; and what plans he has to publish national statistics on the proportion of prisoners released to (i) temporary accommodation, (ii) permanent accommodation and (iii) no fixed abode. [6653]

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 10 December 1996: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General, to reply to your recent Question about what procedures are in place to monitor the type of accommodation to which prisoners are released and what plans there are to publish national statistics on the proportion of prisoners released to different types of accommodation. These statistics are not collected centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. There are therefore no plans to publish such information. Research has highlighted three key factors in helping ex-prisoners retain their homes: the quality of family relationships, the availability of housing benefit, and their financial status, which is linked to employment, training and educational opportunities. A range of support is therefore provided to prisoners to assist them in obtaining suitable accommodation on release. This includes:

  • provision of housing and employment advice through officers specially trained by the NACRO Prison Link Unit;
  • advice on benefit entitlements;
  • assistance in maintaining family ties, for example through visits, correspondence and access to cardphones;
  • maximising opportunities for employment, training and education;
  • release on temporary licence for suitable prisoners for work, training and education, and to assist with resettlement towards the end of their sentences.
  • inmate development and pre-release training, which aims to teach prisoners skills to cope with major resettlement problems;
  • sentence planning, which assists the prisoner in planning for release;
  • provision of a Directory of Help Agencies, which provides information on agencies providing assistance to ex-offenders locally.
Further assistance is available from the Probation Service to ex-prisoners on statutory supervision following release.