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RR3 Special Interest Group on Accommodation report
Part 1
We are pleased to publish the first report from the Special Interest Group on Accommodation, convened as part of the work of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group. The SIG’s work has highlighted the barriers to accessing accommodation (either temporary or settled) for people leaving prison or people with a criminal record. These are as follows:
- Problems accessing temporary accommodation or suitable settled accommodation via effective resettlement planning, homelessness legislation or Government provision
- Problems accessing the private rented sector (PRS), including Local Housing Allowance (LHA), guarantors, upfront costs and discrimination
- Problems accessing adequate housing-related support, including the level of support required and the limitations of current commissioned services.
The first report corresponds to the first barrier, highlighting the difficulties that people leaving prison face in accessing local authority accommodation. The report has found:
- Delays to resettlement planning and a lack of coordinated service delivery
- A failure from local authorities to engage effectively with people ahead of their release
- Lack of support for people on remand.
The report also uncovers problems associated with a subjective interpretation of existing homeless legislation. This has resulted in people leaving prison not being deemed as having priority need for local authority accommodation, along with being deemed as having made themselves intentionally homeless.
The final section highlights obstacles to accessing temporary accommodation, centred on:
- Insufficient capacity
- Regional disparity on provision
- Flaws in communication regarding the availability of this provision
- A lack of provision specifically for women
Developed in consultation with the voluntary sector, the report puts forward a range of practical recommendations for the government to consider in relation to reforming current resettlement processes, easing access to local authority accommodation, and ensuring sufficient and suitable temporary accommodation.
The second and third reports, corresponding to the second and third barriers, will be published in due course. Work is now ongoing to engage with officials responsible for the areas outlined in this report, focused on exploring the implementation of its recommendations.
We will update SIG participants as to our progress. Please contact bronte.jack@clinks.org with any questions.
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