Campaign reply - Please support the Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison Declaration

Thank you for contacting my office. I very much appreciate you getting in touch about prison leavers and homelessness, in particular regarding women prison leavers.

The Government shares my commitment to ensuring that action is taken to reduce reoffending, protect the public and help offenders contribute to society. 

The Government is clear that getting prison leavers into stable accommodation provides the foundation they need to find work, as well as access any treatment for addiction and mental health challenges. This joined up approach of addressing accommodation, work and treatment together will protect the public and save some of the £18 billion annual cost of reoffending. The Government's vision is that no one who is subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless.

It is also welcome that the Government has launched a new accommodation service, providing up to 12 weeks of basic temporary accommodation for those prison leavers who would otherwise be homeless. This is launching initially in five Probation regions - the North West; Yorkshire and the Humber; the East of England; Kent, Surrey and Sussex; and Greater Manchester.

The Government will invest so that every offender leaving prison can access this new provision. This will provide accommodation for those who leave prison without stable accommodation and give them a foundation from which other issues that drive reoffending, such as employment, healthcare, or substance misuse, can be addressed. This builds on the Government's Covid emergency scheme, which contributed towards an almost 30 per cent reduction in prisoners released to homelessness between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

I also appreciate your specific concerns regarding female prison leavers. You may welcome the fact that women-only accommodation will be made available as required as part of the basic temporary accommodation. I will continue to monitor this important area very closely.

Thank you once again for getting in touch, and if I can be of further assistance with any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.