Reaction to Justice Committee inquiry into Women in Prison report

“We welcome this report but it is the latest in a long line of authoritative reports criticising government for paying lip service to the particular needs and vulnerabilities of women in prison while failing to invest in the support services that would enable them to turn their lives around. Without safe, suitable accommodation women are still being set up to fail themselves and their children. 

“Improving accommodation provision for women in contact with the criminal justice system was a key commitment made by the Ministry of Justice in 2018. Nearly five years on, the Justice Committee Inquiry into Women in Prison concludes again that “Finding suitable accommodation on release is one of the most significant and urgent barriers to resettlement…”. Women are still being released homeless, at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse and more likely to be recalled to prison. In its most recent report on HMP&YOI Bronzefield (May 2022) HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that 65% of sentenced women did not have a safe or suitable home to go to on release.

“The Committee found after hearing from the Ministry of Justice that it’s not at all clear how many women are being assisted by the new temporary accommodation service for released prisoners or what housing support is being provided in women’s prisons and through the gate. This Justice Committee report confirms that the government's delivery of its own objectives has been poor, slow, opaque and under-resourced.”

Dr Jenny Earle