Housing and Reoffending: Supporting people who serve short-term sentences to secure and sustain stable accommodation on liberation - Research Finding

6. Research Findings - Services

The research explored which services would help people who serve short sentences to resolve the housing problems set out above, and it collected information on the nature and extent of the services provided, and the gaps in those services (for detailed information see Full report). This section sets out a high level analysis of that material.

What services are needed?

The research found that comprehensive services including advice on housing and support are needed by people that serve short sentences to help them resolve their housing problems.

Services are needed on entry to prison to stop problems from occurring or to stop them escalating; during a sentence and when approaching release to help secure suitable housing (where possible) and finance and to develop skills; and after release to help set up and sustain housing.

For services to have the most impact they should focus on supporting short term prisoners to keep existing housing where possible. Where this is not possible they could most usefully focus on supporting people, when liberated, to secure resources (housing, essential furniture, clothing and funds for food) and to develop the skills (coping with a tenancy, budgeting and how to shop cook and clean) to set up and sustain housing.

Current services

The research found that there are extensive and wide ranging services being delivered in Scotland. The services are delivered at all stages and address the full range of housing problems. Some are delivered by the public sector (prison staff, housing staff and reintegration staff) others by the third sector. The research also found that they can have a positive impact on desistance.

Despite the extensive activity in delivering services with a housing element to people who serve short sentences the research found extensive gaps. Further it identified barriers to comprehensive and consistent delivery including practical difficulties and the sheer scale and complexity of the issue.

Comprehensiveness

The research found that services with a housing element are not comprehensively delivered across Scotland; as such there was a gap in the availability of services both between prisons and between local authority areas in which individuals were resident. For example, people serving their sentence in HMP Cornton Vale had access to housing services covering all local authority areas whereas people serving their sentence in HMP Edinburgh only have access to housing services if they were previously residents in Edinburgh City or Fife Council areas.

Consistency

A further gap was an inconsistent level of service and an inconsistency in the approach.

An example of inconsistency in the level of service is that some local authorities enable people serving a short sentence to apply for and be allocated housing shortly before release and others do not (17 of the 32 local authorities would accept such applications and only 8 of 32 would consider allocating housing pre-release).

A further example is that some housing officers are based in prisons full or part time, for example HMP Addiewell has a full time housing officer that will deliver services to people from any local authority area. Other prisons have housing services attending regularly, for example HMP Glenochil one half day a week but this service only delivers to people from Fife and Forth Valley.

An example of inconsistency of approach is that not all housing services use the Housing Options approach (which can be defined as a process which involves considering people’s options and choices in the widest sense, with a focus on early intervention) when carrying out a homelessness assessment.

Practical difficulties

A barrier to service delivery identified by the research was practical difficulties. For example, the research found that, although prison staff were consistent at liaising with landlords to prevent immediate repossessions because of abandonment procedures, there were found to be limited opportunities for prison staff to arrange payment plans to help individuals manage arrears.

Size and complexity of the problem

Further, although the research found that prison staff, despite not being experts in housing, can provide services to help resolve housing problems, the size and scale of the problem is acting as a barrier to comprehensive service delivery.

The research collected data from one day in April 2015 to indicate the complexity and the potential size of the issue.

The results showed that each of the 14 prisons in Scotland that hold people serving short sentences was holding people who were residents of different local authorities (between 9 and 29). Looking at the issue the other way, the research showed that 25 local authorities had residents serving short sentences in at least seven prisons, and for 13 of the 25 their residents could be found in 10 or more prisons.

A few examples illustrate the complexities further

• At HMP Castle Huntly the 15 short-term prisoners held on 3 April 2015 were residents of 10 different local authorities, and at HMP Edinburgh the 343 being held came from 24 different local authority areas.
• 541 people from Glasgow City Council were serving a short sentence on 3 April 2015 and they were distributed amongst all 14 prisons, whilst 25 people from East Dunbartonshire were serving a short sentence that day and they were distributed among 8 prisons.

These numbers illustrate how problematic it is for local authorities to provide a comprehensive housing service to all people serving short sentences from their area not least in terms of resources. And for SPS staff this complexity makes it highly problematic to secure the same level of service provision for all those in custody.

In summary

Extensive effort and resources are being deployed to deliver services with a housing element to people who serve short sentences in Scotland. These services can help with desistance from offending. There are, however, gaps in coverage and level and approach of services. There are practical barriers to delivering comprehensive services not least the size and complexity of the issue.