Prison Leavers: Accommodation
(Bristol East) (Lab)
10. What support his Department provides to help prison leavers
secure appropriate accommodation on release. [912602]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice ()
I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady that finding accommodation
for prisoners at the end of their sentence is vital. That is why
we have already started pilots to help offenders released from
three prisons—Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds—to secure and
maintain accommodation, with £6.4 million from the Government’s
rough sleeping strategy.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley () mentioned today’s report
which says that young offenders are being set up to fail when
they are released. One concern raised in the report is about the
quality of unregulated supported living, which is a real concern
in Bristol. May I urge the Minister to talk to her counterparts
in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to
see how we can regulate supported housing?
The hon. Lady makes an interesting point. I would like to assure
her that we do liaise with MHCLG. In fact, on Thursday I am going
with my counterpart from MHCLG to visit one of the pilots in
Leeds, and I will raise that point with him.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
A Buckinghamshire knight—Sir .
Sir (Aylesbury) (Con)
I welcome what my hon. and learned Friend has said about the
pilot projects now under way and wish them success. Since up to
30%, by some estimates, of people sleeping rough on the streets
have a prison record, does she agree that one of the best ways to
secure a reduction in reoffending is to step up these schemes and
ensure that when someone has served their time, they have a roof
over their heads on release?
I agree very much with my experienced right hon. Friend, from
whom I learned so much as his Parliamentary Private Secretary. He
is absolutely right about accommodation. We are looking at the
pilots. We are also trying to expand the approved premises estate
by an extra 200 beds. Accommodation is a critical matter, and we
are looking hard into it.
