‘Shocking’ Number Of Homeless Women Sent To Prison

Over 3,000 women were recorded as being effectively homeless on arrival in custody at any one of the nine prisons for female offenders in England and Wales last year – with many likely to return to homelessness on release. Ministry of Justice stats put to Parliament show the number of women recorded as of “no fixed abode” when they entered prison women has now nearly doubled since 2015. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/shocking-number-of-homeless-women-sent-to-prison/

Prisons To Be Sold For Housing

Plans to build nine new prisons have been unveiled by the Government. The new prisons will allow old Victorian prisons in city centres to be closed and the sites sold for housing, Chancellor George Osborne and Justice Secretary Michael Gove said ahead of a visit to Brixton prison in South London. "So many of our jails are relics from Victorian times on prime real estate in our inner cities". The sites will allow more than 3,000 new homes to be built, with the Victorian prison site at Reading the first to be sold, Mr Osborne and Mr Gove said. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

NHS And Prisons 'Must Have Legal Duty to Prevent Homelessness'

Hospitals, prisons and statutory bodies should be given a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, an umbrella body has said. Launching its manifesto in the run-up to the general election, Homeless Link said the government should promote a ‘prevention first’ approach to homelessness and ensure professionals play a role in stopping rough sleeping. It suggested that authorities such as prisons should have a duty placed on them to have ‘due regard’ to the need to prevent homelessness among people leaving prison. Download the manifesto from the Homeless Link website.