Express your interest in joining the RR3 SIG on Accommodation
Help us build the evidence base, highlight best practice, and find solutions to the barriers to accessing accommodation for people leaving prison
Calling voluntary sector organisations!
We are calling on any voluntary organisation, either providing accommodation or accommodation-related support to people involved in the criminal justice system, to join the RR3 Accommodation Special Interest Group. For any questions, or to express your interest in participating, please contact our RR3 Secretariat, Bronte Jack. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is Monday 9 October 2023.
Ahead of the first session, we are also looking for organisations to submit evidence of barriers to accessing accommodation for people leaving prison or with a criminal record, highlight best practice that has been shown to mitigate these barriers and offer solutions. Similarly, we are interested to hear if there have been additional barriers identified through your work which should also be explored. Please see this link for further details and submit your response to the form by Thursday 19 October 2023.
About the RR3 Accommodation SIG
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) is made up of senior experts from the voluntary sector and meets quarterly with civil servants to provide guidance and feedback on prison and probation policy developments.
The RR3 can also convene time-limited Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to explore certain topics in more depth, and to subsequently provide a range of practical policy recommendations.
We will be holding an Accommodation SIG, which will focus on the barriers to accessing accommodation (either temporary or settled) for people leaving prison or for people with a criminal record. We are looking for voluntary sector organisations working in this space to join the group. The first session will take place on 26 October 2023.
The initial areas to explore will be a range of barriers faced by this cohort:
- Problems accessing temporary accommodation, suitable, settled accommodation via homelessness legislation or accessing a suitable social tenancy – including supply, allocations and the benefit cap.
- Problems accessing the private rented sector, including Local Housing Allowance, guarantors, upfront costs, and discrimination.
- Problems accessing adequate housing-related support – housing provided alongside support, supervision or care to help people to live as independently as possible in the community.
We have done some exploratory work highlighting the barriers to accessing accommodation for people leaving prison and/or for people with criminal records. Further, we have set out areas of focus for potential solutions to these barriers, ranging from the immediately practical to the structural. They are as follows:
- Legislative options, including the Renters’ Reform Bill
- Incentivising landlords
- Boosting people leaving prison’s financial security
- More effective commissioning
Please do provide any information on these areas by completing the Microsoft Form. Please do not feel limited in covering the areas provided, we welcome feedback on further potential solutions.
For any questions, or to express your interest in participating in the SIG, please contact our RR3 Secretariat, Bronte Jack. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is Monday 9 October 2023.
Expression of interest in the SIG is open to all, and we welcome broad engagement from those working in the sector. Once we have ascertained interest, we will be able to share additional information which explains the functions of this SIG in greater detail.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks on Twitter
Contact us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 4502 6774
Click here to manage your subscriptions. For assistance, email info@clinks.org
© Clinks, 2023
Registered office: 82A James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7DE
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562176