Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill: Third Reading

I beg to move, that the Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill be now read a third time.

Before I begin Mr Speaker, I would like to thank all of those who have contributed in debates and at Committee Stage for this Bill to date. So far I can report that we have received broad support from colleagues from across the House whether on these benches, or from the SNP, Labour and Lib Dem ones opposite, and I hope that collegiate and constructive approach will continue at this stage, and so to if the Bill if fortunate enough to continue to the Lords.

Being released from prison on a Friday presents unique challenges for offenders who want to change their lives and turn their back on crime. Friday releases can be fraught with practical challenges that can derail this goal.

Approximately a third of all releases currently fall on a Friday. And like release on any other weekday, many of those released will need to access essential support services, such as local authority housing, substance misuse support or mental health services. However, on a Friday there is a unique race against the clock before these services close for the day, with many of them closing early and are then shut for the weekend. Navigating the journey across a region to access multiple services, with one eye on the clock, knowing the cliff edge that the weekend can present is a daunting challenge.

Let me give you an example of why this matters. David Dunn wrote to me - he is a director of Release Mates, a group of prison leavers in long term recovery from addition who recognise the need for support for men and women in the immediate hours following their release from custody.

As David told me, a typical day for Release Mates is waiting at the prison gate for a prison leaver, ensuring they have food and clothes, taking them for a breakfast, accompanying them to the mandatory day of release probation appointment, then to the job centre to ensure he/she has funds to survive.

Often, we then accompany the prison leaver to their local police station where they are required to report as part of a court order, and wherever possible we try to link prison leavers in with drug and alcohol services and/or mental health support. Our work with female prisoners leaving HMP Styal is often more complex as we are sometimes required to attend children’s services appointments on the day of release.

David goes on...

"Our experience is that the job we do with prison leavers is significantly more difficult on a Friday. We are often required to find emergency accommodation for prison leavers, which on other days of the week is difficult but on Fridays is almost impossible. The weekend closure of drug and alcohol services regularly sees addicted prison leavers on opiate substitute medication without a prescription after a Friday release, inevitably leading to a relapse to Class A drugs. Without wishing to be critical of the probation service, they can offer very little help after noon on a Friday. Sometimes we are simply unable to complete all the appointments which a prison leaver is required to attend in one day. If that day is a Friday, a vulnerable person is often left to fend for themselves for 3 days before receiving help. I do not like to think of the chances a prison leaver being released on a Friday has without the kind of support which we offer.

Mr Speaker, failure to access vital support can increase an offender’s likelihood of reoffending. We know that the reoffending rate for adults released on a Friday is higher than for any other day of the week, and that those without stable accommodation on release are almost 50% more likely to reoffend.

By removing the barriers that a Friday release can bring, we can ensure that prison-leavers have a better chance to access the support they need to reintegrate into the community so that victims and the public are protected.

Currently, the law mandates that offenders due to be released on a Saturday, Sunday or a bank or public holiday must be released on the preceding day, provided it is a working day. While this avoids releases on days when services are completely closed, the result is a bunching of releases on a Friday, with almost double the number of any other day of the week.

This Bill will amend that law to provide the Secretary of State for Justice a discretionary power to bring forward the release date of an offender by up to two eligible working days where that release date falls on a Friday or the day before a bank or public holiday.

In practical terms, it will be for the prison Governor, Director or appropriate equivalent official in a youth establishment to apply the policy to bring forward an individual’s release date.

Evidence suggests that a Friday release day has a disproportionate impact on those with complex needs, those who may have greater distances to travel once they are released, or those with substance misuse or mental health needs.

Such a power will promote law-abiding reintegration into society by ensuring those leaving custody can access the support services they need upon release.

Like adults, children are more likely to be released on a Friday than on any other day. In addition to their inherent vulnerability as children, under-18s leaving custody have multiple, often complex needs and a Friday release may mean them going for two, or even three, days without meaningful contact with support services when they are at their most vulnerable. That is why this Bill applies to both adults and children sentenced to detention and will ensure the same provisions exist across the youth estate.

Evidence shows that if someone has the basics in place that they need upon their resettlement, then they are less likely to reoffend.

This House has an opportunity to provide offenders with vital extra time to meet their probation officer or youth justice worker and access services such as healthcare ahead of the weekend, helping to cut crime and ultimately make our streets safer.

The fact is, Mr Speaker, that many people released from prison - especially on Fridays - are almost set up to fail from the moment they set foot off the prison estate.

If we support people as they come out of prison, we can play a key role in reducing the significant societal and individual costs of reoffending, leading to fewer victims of crime and fewer communities dealing with its impact.

This Bill is an important step towards doing that and I sincerely hope that the House will agree that by making the simple change that it proposes - varying the date of release for vulnerable people by up to 48 hours - we can relieve that time pressure, take away that cliff edge, and give people the best opportunity to make a fresh start.

If we are serious about justice, about helping people to rebuild stable and rewarding lives, relieving prison capacity to improve outcomes, and about reducing re-offending, passing this Bill is an important step in the right direction.

I am drawing to a close, Mr Speaker.

Sometimes it feels as though that we do in this place is very distant from the world outside. This Bill has helped to remind me that this is not the case. After Second Reading my office received a call from a serving prisoner, Gary, who had watched proceedings on Parliament TV. He is due for release on a Friday in August on a Bank Holiday weekend. Understandably he is concerned about exactly the issue that this Bill seeks to address - being stranded without support, or the ability to help himself, for three days.

There are hundreds of Garys out there, all with the same concerns. All of whom want a fair chance to stand on their own two feet and start a new life on release. By passing this Bill I hope that we will give them a bit more of a chance. It is the least we can do.

During the passage of this Bill so far, I have been most grateful to my hon. Friends across these benches, for their support and valued contributions on this issue.

Many have contributed at Second Reading and Committee Stage, and I would like to thank them all for their insight and passion. As constituency MPs we all know people who have been affected by this issue, and that has come out time and time again.

But I would like to particularly thank my friend, the Member for Workington, who kindly passed responsibility for this Bill to me on his elevation to the Whips office. He also kindly Chaired the Committee Stage of the Bill for me.

The Member for Aylesbury has been a passionate supporter of this cause in and out of office, and I am grateful for his presence here today.

Similarly the Minister, the Rt Hon Member for East Hampshire has been similarly supportive, and his presence is a comfort at the dispatch box. He is a true ally in this cause - as is his amazing team at the Ministry - especially Robyn, in his private office.

I should also like to thank the constituents, charities (not least Sam Julius and the team at NACRO who have done so much to campaign on the issue), chaplains and faith groups, and other third sector organisations such as Switchback, the community Chaplain Association, Release Mates, and the Well Communities in Barrow, who have supplied case studies and - more importantly - work with offenders day in, day out to get them on their feet on release, even against difficult odds. I hope that the passage of this bill will make the odds a little more favourable.

Finally, I would like to thank my friend, the good Lord Bird, who has kindly agreed to shepherd this Bill through the other place if it passes here today. As founder of the Big Issue and a passionate campaigner for social justice, he knows why this matters more than most.

Mr Speaker, I hope that I have addressed as fully as possible the aims of the Bill and the positive impact that it will have. I am proud to present this Bill to the House for its Third Reading. In many ways, it offers just a small change, but it is a change that will have a great and lasting impact for so many individuals leaving custody.