Official Statistics

Offender Accommodation Outcomes - Statistical Summary

Published 25 July 2024

Applies to England and Wales

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1. Introduction

This summary presents the main findings from the most recent Offender Accommodation Outcomes publication.

The Probation Service is responsible for managing all offenders on a community sentence or licence following their release from prison in England and Wales.

There are 12 probation regions – 11 in England and one in Wales.

2. Housed on Release from Custody

Housed means the prison leaver is in any settled or temporary accommodation. Housed does not include shelters, emergency hostels, campsites, squatting or rough sleeping.

• In the year to March 2024, 85.7% of offenders were housed on the night following release from custody (excluding cases out of scope or where the status was unknown)^{Note 1}
• This is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from 86.3% in the 2022/23 performance year
• While there has been a decrease in the rate of offenders housed on release from custody, overall, accommodation outcomes have improved since the beginning of the time series in 2019

Figure 1: Percentage of offenders housed on release from custody, by performance year, April 2019 to March 2024, England and Wales
(Source: Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 2)

3. Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody

Settled accommodation is any accommodation that provides a permanent housing solution.

• In the year to March 2024, 73.5% of offenders were in settled accommodation at 3 months post release following release from custody (excluding cases out of scope or where the status was unknown)^{Note 1}
• This is a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from 75.6% in the 2022/23 performance year
• Settled accommodation outcomes for offenders at 3 months post release from custody are at their lowest level in 2023/24 since the start of the time series in 2020/21

Figure 2: Percentage of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, by performance year, April 2020 to March 2024, England and Wales
(Source: Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 2)

4. Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Community Disposal

Settled accommodation is any accommodation that provides a permanent housing solution.

• In the year to March 2024, 85.2% of those sentenced to a community order were in settled accommodation at 3 months after starting their sentence (excluding cases out of scope or where the status was unknown)^{Note 1}
• This is an increase of 0.1 percentage points from 85.1% in the 2022/23 performance year
• Settled accommodation outcomes for offenders sentenced to a community order have steadily been increasing and are currently at their highest level since the start of the time series in 2020

Figure 3: Percentage of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post community disposal, by performance year, April 2020 to March 2024, England and Wales
(Source: Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Community Disposal Data Tables; Table 2)

5. Further Insights

5.1 Outcomes by Region

Housed on Release from Custody

• Of the 12 reported regions across England and Wales, 3 regions saw an increase in the proportion of offenders housed on the night following release from custody, compared to the 2022/23 performance year
• The London probation region saw the largest improvement in performance with 84.5% of offenders housed on the night following release from custody, an increase of 4.8 percentage points from 79.7% in the 2022/23 performance year
• The North West probation region saw the largest fall in performance with 86.3% of offenders housed on the night following release from custody, a decrease of 5.0 percentage points from 91.3% in the 2022/23 performance year

Figure 4: Percentage of offenders housed on release from custody, by region, April 2023 to March 2024 compared to April 2022 to March 2023
(Source: Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 3)

Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody

• Of the 12 reported regions across England and Wales, 3 regions saw an increase in the proportion of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, compared to the 2022/23 performance year
• The Wales probation region saw the largest improvement in performance with 79.4% of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from 77.9% in the 2022/23 performance year
• The North East probation region saw the largest fall in performance with 70.9% of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, a decrease of 6.9 percentage points from 77.8% in the 2022/23 performance year

Figure 5: Percentage of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, by region, April 2023 to March 2024 compared to April 2022 to March 2023
(Source: Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 3)

Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Community Disposal

• Of the 12 reported regions across England and Wales, 4 regions saw an increase in the proportion of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months after starting their community sentence, compared to the 2022/23 performance year
• The Yorkshire and The Humber probation region saw the largest improvement in performance with 87.2% of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months after starting their community sentence, an increase of 4.8 percentage points from 82.4% in the 2022/23 performance year
• The North East probation region saw the largest fall in performance with 80.5% of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months after starting their community sentence, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from 83.7% in the 2022/23 performance year

Figure 6: Percentage of offenders in settled accommodation at 3 months post community disposal, by region, April 2023 to March 2024 compared to April 2022 to March 2023
(Source: Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Community Disposal Data Tables; Table 3)

5.2 Outcomes by Age

• There was some variation seen between age groups and accommodation types
• Prison leavers aged between 18 - 20 and 21 - 24 had higher rates of settled accommodation on release from custody, and at 3 months post release from custody
• Across all accommodation measures, offenders aged between 30 - 39 and 40 - 49 had higher rates of homelessness or rough sleeping

Figure 7: Percentage of offenders in settled accommodation, or who are homeless or rough sleeping, by age, April 2023 to March 2024
(Source: Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 5, Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 5, Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Community Disposal Data Tables; Table 5)

5.3 Outcomes by Sentence Length

• Consistent with findings from the 2022/23 performance year, 2023/24 data show that there is a relationship between custodial sentence length and accommodation rates
• These data show individuals serving longer custodial sentences have better accommodation outcomes both at release, and at 3 months post release. Conversely, individuals on shorter sentences are shown to have worse accommodation outcomes
• Similar findings between sentence length and outcomes have been seen in the 2024 Offender Employment Outcomes publication

Figure 8: Percentage of offenders housed on release from custody and in settled accommodation at 3 months post release from custody, by sentence length, April 2023 to March 2024
(Source: Housed on Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 8, Settled Accommodation at 3 Months Post Release from Custody Data Tables; Table 8)

5.4 Other Characteristics

There are differing levels of accommodation outcomes between groups across the characteristics of sex, ethnicity, and offence type.

• For prison leavers housed on release, there was no difference in the accommodation rates between male and female offenders. However, at the 3 month post release stage, the accommodation rate for males was higher than that for females
• While the Asian or Asian British ethnicity group had the highest accommodation rates amongst prison leavers in 2023/24, accommodation outcomes for this group at 3 months post release from custody are at their lowest level since the start of the time series in 2020/21
• Higher accommodation rates are seen for Asian or Asian British and White ethnicity groups for offenders sentenced to community orders
• Additionally, there is high variation of accommodation rates between different offence types committed

6. Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS3)

CAS3 commenced on 19 July 2021, and provides up to 12 weeks basic accommodation for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness. Initially, the service was launched in 5 probation regions, with full coverage in place by December 2023.

• In total, 12,205 offenders have been placed in CAS3 accommodation between 1 July 2021 and 31 March 2024, of which 6,295 were placed between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
• Of these places, 11,440 (93.7%) were for male residents, and 755 (6.2%) were for female residents, with 10 other cases
• For reference, as of the 31 March 2024, according to the Prison Population statistics, males comprise 95.9% of the prison population, and females 4.1%

7. Further Information

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• Offender Accommodation Outcomes – Statistical Guidance
• Offender Accommodation Outcomes – Data Tables

Enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:
E Stradling
Email: CrossCuttingPerformanceEnquiries@justice.gov.uk

8. Official Statistics

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You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

[Note 1] Please refer to the Statistical Guidance document for full details on the inclusion and exclusion criteria for Management Information calculations.