BROMLEY BRIEFINGS PRISON FACTFILE - Prison Reform Trust

Homelessness and unemploymentSurveys indicate 30% of people released fromprison will have nowhere to live. 282 This isdespite the fact that stable accommodation canreduce re-offending by over 20%. 283 The HomeOffice claims that recent progress on supportingprisoners to find accommodation has led tosignificant improvements and that 90.1% of thetotal number of prisoners released in the yearending March 2006 reported havingaccommodation arranged. 284In the year 2006-7, 65,733 prisoners had an‘accommodation outcome’ on release. 28514% of men, 20% of women and 10 % ofyoung offenders were not in permanentaccommodation before custody. 286Home Office research into the resettlementof short term prisoners found that more thanhalf (51%) had housing problems prior toimprisonment. 287 Around one in every 20prisoners was sleeping rough before they weresent to custody. 288Most prisoners depend on housing benefit tohelp with their rent before they entercustody. However, entitlement to HousingBenefit stops for all sentenced prisonersexpected to be in prison for more than 13weeks.This means that many prisoners have verylittle chance of keeping their tenancy open untilthe end of their sentence and lose their housing.The Home Office has found that womenprisoners are particularly likely not to haveaccommodation arranged for their release.Just 62% of women had accommodationarranged, compared with 90% of young maleoffenders and 69% of adult men. 289 Housingadvisors have been recruited for all women’slocal prisons. 290The Revolving Doors Agency has found that49% of prisoners with mental healthproblems had no fixed address on leavingprison. Of those who had a secure tenancybefore going to prison, 40% lost it on release. 291The Big Issue conducted the largest surveyof its vendors in 2001. More than one-thirdof Big Issue vendors are ex-prisoners. Only13 % received any form of resettlement advicebefore their release from prison.A Home Office study found recently thatonly one in five prisoners who need helpwith accommodation get support or advice.It also found that two-thirds of prisoners withno accommodation arranged on release hadnot received any housing support.The samestudy found that only half of those who hadreceived some form of help had an address togo to on release.The study concluded that‘many prisoners would like help looking foraccommodation but do not receive it’. 292Research by the House of Commons HomeAffairs Committee found that only 19% ofprisoners received advice or guidance aboutaccommodation. 293Getting ex-prisoners into stable housing canact as a gateway to effective resettlement.Home Office research has found that prisonerswho have accommodation arranged on releaseare four times more likely to have employment,education or training arranged than those who282. Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison, Home Office Findings 248, London: Home Office283. Social Exclusion Unit (2002) Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners, London: Social Exclusion Unit284. Hansard, House of Commons written answers, 9 January 2007285. HMPS Annual Report and Accounts, April 2006 – March 2007, 17 July 2007, p. 23286. Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison, Home Office Findings 248, London: Home Office287. Home Office (2003) The resettlement of short term prisoners: an evaluation of seven pathfinder programmes, Findings 200, London: Home Office288. Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison, Home Office Findings 248, London: Home Office289. Ibid.290. Hansard, House of Lords, 28 October 2004291. Revolving Doors Agency (2002) Where Do They Go? Housing, Mental Health and Leaving Prison, London: Revolving Doors292. Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison, Home Office Findings 248, London: Home Office293. House of Commons, Home Affairs Committee, Rehabilitation of Prisoners, First Report of Session 2004-2005, Volume 1 and 2www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk 35