HC Deb 30 June 1999 vol 334 cc187-8W
Lorna Fitzsimons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes there are to help prisoners find accommodation on their release. [88675]

Mr. George Howarth

The Prison and Probation Services work closely together to help prisoners released on licence to maintain or secure appropriate accommodation. For prisoners not subject to statutory supervision there are a number of sources of advice and guidance. These include prison officers trained by "National Association for Care and Resettlement of Offenders", accommodation specialists from the probation service and independent organisations.

Lorna Fitzsimons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department has done to identify debt problems affecting prisoners that could increase the likelihood of an individual re-offending, if not dealt with before the prisoner's release. [88672]

Mr. George Howarth

It is recognised that financial considerations can be related to the risk of re-offending in some cases. While no specific programme is in place to identify problems of debt, it is a factor which is taken into account in wider assessments for sentence planning and in the provision of advice and information.

Lorna Fitzsimons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is being done in the Prison Service to ensure that a resettlement service is provided for each prisoner. [88673]

Mr. George Howarth

Adult prisoners with six months or more to serve and young offenders serving one month or more are subject to a system of sentence planning to determine what can be done during their time in custody and on licence to contribute to successful release. The Prison Service invests annually in the "National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders" prison link unit, providing £226,000 for 1999–2000, to train prison officers to provide advice and information on resettlement issues, and for specially trained staff to provide pre-release courses.

Individual prisons liaise with probation services and other statutory and independent organisations, to provide resettlement services appropriate to local circumstances.

The Government have also invested nearly £3.5 million in piloting Welfare to Work in 11 prison establishments. In the 12 months the pilot has been in operation, over 2,500 young prisoners have joined, and over 1,700 have completed, the programme.

However, the Government recognise that there may be a particular difficulty in pro viding effective resettlement advice and support for prisoners serving sentences of less than a year. Under the Crime Reduction Programme, pilots are therefore to be established in seven areas to test out and evaluate new ways of meeting the resettlement needs of short term prisoners.

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