LEAVING PRISON AND
HOUSING
Introduction and Context
Key Statistics
• Ministry of Justice found that 15% of prisoners had no
accommodation prior to imprisonment
• One third say they have nowhere to go on leaving prison
• 79% of prisoners who were homeless before custody reoffend within one year; 47% of those who were not
homeless
• Stable accommodation reduces risk of re-offending by
20%
Local Authorities and Homelessness
• Local authorities often have no statutory duty to house
homeless former prisoners
• In Liverpool during 2010-11 four people accepted as
statutorily homeless due to leaving prison
• In 2003, almost 1,000 former prisoners found to be
statutorily homeless, but out of possible 26,000
• Local authorities provide specific funding for
accommodation related support
A long history of initiatives
• 1991 Criminal Justice Act sought to bring about
‘throughcare’
• HMIP (2001) found failure to co-ordinate services,
particularly for short term prisoners
• 2003 Criminal Justice Act created Custody Plus and
Intermittent Custody, but not implemented
• 2003 Carter Review recommended creation of NOMS to
‘break down the current silos of prison and probation’
A long history of initiatives –part 2
• 2004 Reducing re-offending National Action Plan
identified housing as one of seven reducing re-offending
pathways
• 2006 Home Office made ‘meeting the housing needs of
offenders’ part of its 5 year strategy
• NOMS set target of ensuring 90% of prisoners had their
housing need assessed within 4 days of being sent to
prison (100% in the North East)
The role of the Third Sector
• Third sector organisations contracted to provide housing
advice and support in prisons
• 2010 Green Paper Breaking the Cycle suggested working
with Crisis to access the private rented sector
Transforming Rehabilitation White Paper
• “What we do at the moment is send people out of prison
with £46 in their pocket, and no support at all. The
proposals will see all of those sentenced to prison or
probation properly punished while being helped to turn
away from crime for good. They will also mean taxpayers'
money is only spent on what works when it comes to
cutting crime.” (MoJ)
• Key concern was over lack of statutory obligation to
support those imprisoned for less than one year
• Pledged to establish a nationwide ‘through the prison
gate’ resettlement service to give offenders continuity of
support
2014 Offender Rehabilitation Act
• 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to
manage the majority of offenders in Contract Package
Areas (CPAs), with the highest risk offenders managed by
the National Probation Service
• All prisoners to be supervised for at least one year after
release
• CRCs to create & implement resettlement plans with
offenders in prison which include helping to find
accommodation
• Majority of prisoners to serve last part of their sentence in
resettlement prisons designated to their home area
Find out more
Cooper, V. (2013) No Fixed Abode, Howard League for Penal
Reform, available from
http://www.howardleague.org/publications-resettlement/
Gojkovic, D. Mills, A. and Meek, R. (2012) Accommodation for
Ex-offenders, Third Sector Research Centre at:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/tsrc/research/servicedelivery/criminal-justice/wp-77-accommodation-exoffenders.aspx
Harding, A. and Harding, J. (2006) Inclusion and Exclusion in the
Re-housing of Former Prisoners, Probation Journal 53 (2), pp.
139-155
Ministry of Justice (2014) Target Operating Model: Version 3
Rehabilitation Programme at
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/rehabprog/competition/target-operating-model-3.pdf