Recommendation 15

HM Government Accepted

Accept Reasoning: We recognise that individuals who are released with a job, a home and support with substance misuse issues are less likely to reoffend. That is why, in 2021, the government announced an additional £550m investment over the 3-year Spending Review period to help prison leavers before and after release, through improved access to employment, sustainable housing and health and substance misuse services. This includes those being released from IPP sentences. Resettlement Initiatives As set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper, we are delivering a Prisoner Education Service which will improve the numeracy, literacy, skills and qualifications of prisoners, with the aim of securing jobs, apprenticeships or further education/training on release. For prisoners serving a longer sentence, we are working towards providing sequenced learning opportunities, in which learning is embedded throughout the whole prison. We are rolling out banking and ID Administrators to 92 prisons to support prisoners in obtaining a bank account for use on release and ID. As of 17 October (the latest available data), there were 54 in post. Funding is available for the purchase of right to work ID such as birth certificates and we are working with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on a process to provide driving licences. We have continued to develop the design of Resettlement Passports, including testing with key stakeholders. We are taking an iterative approach to passport development and are already working with five prisons across three probation regions to trial an initial prototype. The passports will help prisons take a more personalised and integrated approach based on an offender’s individual needs, including, in the longer term, those serving IPP sentences. Resettlement and release planning The Effective Proposal Framework (EPF 2) has been deployed to ensure Community Offender Managers (COMs) consider the full range of licence conditions to support release. EPF2 is a digital tool that is completed prior to completion of a request form to the prison governor for licence conditions, or in recommending licence conditions to the Parole Board for indeterminate sentence cases. It augments professional judgement in the selection of the best licence conditions aligned to policy, evidence and availability. It enables consistency of practice and public protection based on all available options and interventions targeting in line with planned delivery. COMs, Prison Offender Managers and Pre-Release teams work together to plan for release including referring for additional interventions/support from Psychologists, Health and/ or Third sector organisations as required. IPP prisoners can access specialist Progression Regimes, where eligible, to support preparation for release. As IPP prisoners progress through the prison system, COMs work with prison colleagues to ensure support is available for effective preparation for release, including supporting moves to the most appropriate prison. Release planning ensures resettlement support is identified so COMs can make appropriate referrals to Commissioned Rehabilitative Service (CRS) providers. Elements of CRS provision apply to people in prison without fixed release dates (e.g. help with existing debts, facilitating understanding of benefits available post-release and how to access them) as well as post-release as required, such as referrals to support continuity of care e.g. health or substance misuse provision. Once they have a release date, IPP offenders will receive support from Prison Employment Leads, who will provide case-level employment support to get them work-ready and match them to roles on release. IPPs will also have access to advice and support on employment and benefits matters prior to their release, via the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) network of Prison Work Coaches based in our resettlement prisons, once they have a release date confirmed. Our Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS3), launched in 5 probation regions in July 2021 and Wales in June 2022, offers prison leavers who would otherwise be homeless temporary accommodation for up to 84 nights, and can be used as a ‘move on’ provision from AP and for those at risk of homelessness. This provision will support the resettlement of IPP prisoners who lack accommodation on release. Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) is an important resettlement tool which can reduce reoffending. Release is subject to risk assessment, but ROTL is available to those serving all sentence types and can be particularly helpful with prisoners serving longer sentences who have been out of the community for many years. In the second quarter of 2022 (latest published data), over four thousand prisoners had at least one ROTL. This includes 734 who were serving indeterminate sentences (240 serving IPP sentences). Approved Premises continue to be available as an option for ROTL for IPP cases. As part of our revi