Prison Release Surge Leaves Some Without Homes as Winter Approaches

Prisoners released early from English and Welsh jails to ease overcrowding are running out of places to sleep as November weather sets in. The government plans another wave of early releases on November 10, a move that charities say will strain an already tight housing market. Probation officers report that they are struggling to find safe, stable homes for these individuals before winter temperatures drop.

Tania Bassett from the probation staff union Napo stated that most housing options were already full following the October releases. She described a situation where staff felt overwhelmed by the expectation to find homes with limited resources. One union member had spent weeks trying to secure accommodation for ten people released on October 1. Bassett noted that there seemed to be an assumption that probation services could solve the housing shortage despite the scarcity of available units.

James, a 37-year-old man in Somerset, illustrates the immediate risk. Released from prison in August, he faces losing his temporary accommodation in four days. He has epilepsy and PTSD, yet Somerset council rejected his application for temporary housing. He was also turned away for probation housing. James said he had contacted MPs, solicitors, and local officials without success. The prospect of sleeping outside in November has led him to consider returning to prison voluntarily.

James also faces logistical hurdles related to his electronic monitoring. He wears a GPS tag that requires a daily charge and an alcohol monitor that must stay connected to a communication device. He said no one had explained how he could meet these technical requirements without a reliable power source or a secure place for the equipment. Bassett warned that widespread homelessness would make it difficult to maintain the government’s policy of electronically tagging early releases.

Data from the Prison Advice and Care Trust shows a sharp increase in releases into rough sleeping. The number of people released into rough sleeping rose 130% over three years, climbing from 6,040 in 2022-23 to 14,360 in 2025-26. Rough sleeping was recorded in about one in seven releases, up from one in ten three years earlier. The share of releases with no fixed abode also increased from 11.3% to 15.9%.

Andy Keen-Downs, chief executive of Pact, said the charity sees people returning to prison daily after missing appointments while sleeping rough. Enver Solomon, chief executive of Nacro, noted that one prison he visited aimed to house only 84% of leavers, effectively accepting that 16% would be homeless. Keen-Downs welcomed the government’s £874m funding boost for homelessness but called the lack of post-prison support funding a fatal flaw. Bassett said Napo would press the chancellor to ensure some of that funding is specifically allocated to prisoners.