Policy briefing: Homeless ex-offenders in Wales, 2010/11

The situation

Homeless ex-offenders are a priority need group in Wales, meaning that they may be entitled to accommodation upon release from prison. In 2010/11, 14 per cent of homelessness acceptances were former prisoners with no accommodation to return to[1].

There has been considerable controversy about priority status for ex-offenders since its introduction in the Homeless Persons (Priority Need) (Wales) Order 2001. The current debate around the forthcoming Housing Bill suggests there may be support among the homelessness sector for modifying or removing the right to housing for this group due to concerns about high ‘drop-out’ rates from temporary accommodation, high incidence of reoffending and repeat homelessness. However there has been little formal research into the impacts of this legislation.

The research

The Welsh Government collects homelessness data in the WHO12 quarterly return. Statistics on housing outcomes for ex-offenders are not collected through the WHO12 return, although many authorities record this information for their own purposes, and so Shelter Cymru made a Freedom of Information request to local authorities to look in more detail at the reasons why ex-offenders in priority need left temporary accommodation in 2010/11, and to compare this with data for all households in the WHO12 return. We obtained data from 13 authorities.

Main findings

Of all ex-offenders leaving temporary accommodation in the 13 authority areas in 2010/11, 39 per cent moved on to more settled housing, either permanent (34 per cent) or in the private rented sector (PRS)[2] (5 per cent). This compares with 62 per cent of all households leaving temporary accommodation[3]. Overall, ex-offenders were around one and a half times more likely to drop out of temporary accommodation than all households. However, this was not a uniform pattern across all authority areas.

In fact, six of the 13 authorities we sampled were achieving move-on rates for ex-offender households of more than 50 per cent in 2010/11. The highest was 72 per cent.

In three authorities, ex-offenders were no more likely to drop out from temporary accommodation than any other household.

This suggests that there may be considerable variation in the service offered to ex-offenders in different parts of Wales, and that a number of services may be successfully implementing good practice in meeting the initial housing and support needs of this client group.

Our position

It is not possible to discern from homelessness data the reasons why ex-offenders may drop out of temporary accommodation. Anecdotal evidence[4] suggests that the main reasons may either be re-offending and going back to prison, or being ejected from hostels for breaking house rules – outcomes described, somewhat euphemistically, in the WHO12 return as 'voluntarily ceasing to occupy' (although it should be noted that some authorities prefer to record these outcomes as 'becoming intentionally homeless' or 'ceasing to be eligible' - suggesting a need to revisit this element of the WHO12 collection to ensure it accurately reflects the reasons why households leave temporary accommodation).

An area in need of further examination is the nature of support offered to ex-offenders before and after release, as well as the nature of temporary accommodation, to establish what differences there may be between those authorities with a high drop-out rate and those where ex-offenders are no more likely to drop out than any other homeless household.

Previous research[5] carried out by Shelter Cymru identified numerous examples of good practice in Wales in relation to this client group and pinpointed a range of success factors including early intervention within sentences; quality and availability of support services during and after custody; quality, availability and location of temporary and long-term accommodation; proximity of family and friends; and ability to access employment opportunities.

Support workers at Prison Link Cymru in North Wales, a project run by Shelter Cymru, identify support post-release as a critical factor. Regardless of whatever resettlement plans have been made prior to release, without support many will fail even to attend at a LA homelessness office. If the quality and availability of support differs substantially between LAs this may help to explain differences in resettlement rates.

There is also a need to analyse the long term outcomes for ex-offenders who go on to more settled housing – from the data we gathered we can estimate that in 2010/11 this may have been around 300 households. There is a considerable body of research[6] to suggest that settled accommodation reduces reoffending, and it was evidence of this nature that informed the original decision to give homeless ex-offenders priority status in Wales. It has been estimated that being in stable accommodation reduces the risk of reoffending by one fifth[7].

Before any decisions are taken to remove or modify priority status for ex-offenders there is an acute need to investigate the incidence of reoffending among those who have moved on to settled housing over the last decade as a result of being owed the main homelessness duty, to ensure we fully understand the extent of the legislation’s effectiveness. We also need to anticipate the consequences of proposed changes, including for example increased burdens on other services.

Case studies

Between October 2011 and February 2012 Shelter Cymru carried out a citizen engagement exercise to give service users a say on how homelessness law and policy should be changed. As part of this exercise we spoke to a number of ex-offenders.

  • Huw is a care leaver who had been in prison several times since he left care. When we spoke to him he had been in temporary accommodation in south east Wales for five months and was shortly due to move into his own flat. He said that he felt a lot had changed over the years in terms of support. As a care leaver his first tenancy failed due to his lack of independent living skills: ‘I was 16, given a flat with little education in how to manage it’. However, during his most recent jail term he was taught budgeting skills and he said that the tenancy support in his current accommodation was very good and ‘they go out of their way to help you’.
  • Carl was raised in care after his father died and has been living independently since the age of 16. He has had prison terms both before and after the introduction of priority need for ex-offenders. He said that he had experienced numerous problems in temporary accommodation, including dusty conditions that affected his breathing and difficulties dealing with staff. He had been evicted from temporary accommodation a number of times, which on occasion led to him going back to prison: ‘It’s crazy, there are times I went back to jail just because I was homeless and it was part of my conditions that I had to have secure accommodation’. He is now in supported accommodation and says that he wishes he had been able to access this kind of support years ago: ‘I’m sure the cycle I was in would have stopped there. I would have been more settled then, more content, like I am now. I’m living in a building with other people, support. It is not fully independent; it’s a step towards it. In those places you are not free, I always felt like I was still in prison, all these rules that are crazy.’
  • Since the age of 21 Carwyn has been in jail around 30 times, each sentence shorter than two years. Following a traumatic upbringing involving physical and sexual abuse within the family, he got into drugs and became a heroin user. Many of his sentences have been for stealing to support his habit. He is now on methadone and living in a bed-sit with three users, and told us he was tempted to switch back to heroin. He said that he finds it difficult to cope with life outside prison: ‘It’s more scary being out, it’s easy inside, too easy. Outside I have no support. In the past I put myself inside just because I couldn’t cope. I went in 2005-2006 for a year just so I would get help. I would get out on the Friday and go back in on the Tuesday. I’d phone the solicitor and tell them I was back in. I’m thinking of doing it again when the support ends this time. Sometimes it’s better than being alone on the street.’

What we are calling for

The Welsh Government should commission research to establish the facts relating to the effectiveness of priority status for homeless ex-offenders. This research needs to establish a number of factors, for example:

  • why different local authorities appear to have such different success rates in relation to this client group
  • what are the long-term outcomes for ex-offenders who go on to more settled housing
  • what are the key success factors for resettling ex-offenders
  • the consequences of any proposed changes in legislation.

March 2012

For further information contact Jennie Bibbings on 02920 556908

Registered charity number: 515902

1

[1]WHO12 data on

[2]It is debatable the extent to which PRS accommodation can reasonably be considered ‘settled’

[3] WHO12 data

[4]According to local authority Housing Officers

[5]Mackie, P. (2008) This time round: exploring the effectiveness of current interventions in the housing of homeless prisoners released to Wales. Shelter Cymru

[6]For example: Humphreys, C. & Stirling, T. (2008) Necessary but not sufficient: housing and the reduction of re-offending. WLGA; Sykes, R. (2011) Developing effective accommodation services for young people in contact the Youth Justice System in Wales. Llamau

[7]Social Exclusion Unit (2002) Reducing reoffending by ex-prisoners