Question
The Minister says that the Government are building new prison places, yet she will be aware that there are fewer prison places today than on the day Labour took office. She will also be aware that this vast flood of prisoners being released early has overwhelmed the ability of the Probation Service to find them accommodation and that some prisoners are now being issued with tents, setting them up to fail. Can the Minister tell us how many prisoners have been issued with tents on their release? Has the rate been higher or lower than she expected?
Answer
It is not Government policy to provide tents to people being released from prison who are at risk of being homeless. We are clear that tents should never be an acceptable housing solution. The hon. Member will know that overall housing responsibility rests with local authorities in England and Wales. I assure him that we are working very closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to tackle the scourge of homelessness across the board, including among the prison leaver cohort that he is concerned about. He can support this work by encouraging his local authority to engage in pre-release panels, so that this work can be done collaboratively right across the UK to ensure that nobody leaves prison homeless.17% vibes
Verdict: RED (5/100)
The question asked how many prisoners were issued tents and how that rate compared with what the Government expected. The reply does not give any figure for the number issued, and it does not say the figure is unavailable. It instead restates that providing tents is not government policy and discusses local authority responsibility for homelessness, so neither part of the question is answered.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many prisoners have been issued with tents on their release. | Not Addressed | Generic | The reply gives no number of prisoners issued tents and does not say such figures are unavailable; statement 1 only states that providing tents is not government policy, which is a policy position rather than an answer to how many were issued. |
| Whether the rate at which prisoners have been issued tents on release has been higher or lower than the Government expected. | Not Addressed | Generic | Nothing in the reply compares the rate of tent issuance with what the Government expected; statements 2 to 4 concern the principle that tents are unacceptable, local authority responsibility, and general cross-government working on homelessness. |