AQW 9812/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Justice
To ask the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the number; and (ii) the percentage of the total of individuals living in (a) owner-occupier; (b) private rental; (c) hostel accommodation; (d) Housing Executive accommodation; (e) Housing Association accommodation; (f) informal arrangements with friends or family; (g) on the streets or night shelter; (h) supported living; and (i) any other form of accommodation, prior to committal to prison, in each of the last five calendar years.
Asked by Kellie Armstrong MLA on 10 April 2024
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 10 April 2024
- Answer due by
- 25 April 2024
- Answered
- 23 April 202413 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Justice
- Priority question
- No
Answer
At committal, an assessment of needs is completed for each prisoner against a number of resettlement pathways, including accommodation. This information enables Prison Service staff in Prisoner Development Units to put interventions in place, such as a referral to the Housing Rights advocacy service to examine accommodation options for a prisoner on release.
Details relating to accommodation are gathered from Prisoner Needs Profile (PNP) questionnaires completed by prisoners. These details are self-reported and not verified by Prison Service staff. It is important to note that not all prisoners will provide a response. Some may refuse to engage with the PNP process; others may refuse to answer the accommodation questions and others are released prior to providing a response.
Table 1 below highlights the requested accommodation type breakdown based on prisoners who completed a PNP. The 2021 data is from 10 February onwards when the current PNP was implemented. Table 2 highlights responses from the previous version of the PNP. However, due to differences in the response categories and in methodology, the data from the previous version of the PNP should not be directly compared to the current PNP.
Table 1: Accommodation Type prior to custody (Current Revised PNP)
| Accommodation Type | 20211 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Hostel | 10% | 8% | 7% |
| JJC Custody | 0% | 0% | <1% |
| NIHE/Housing Association | 38% | 39% | 32% |
| On the streets/night shelter | 2% | 3% | 5% |
| Owner Occupied | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| Private Rented | 24% | 21% | 22% |
| Residential Care | 0% | <1% | <1% |
| Supported Living | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Temporary with friend/family | 12% | 15% | 19% |
| Travellers Site | 0% | <1% | <1% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Table 2: Accommodation Type prior to custody (Previous version of PNP)
| Accommodation Type | 2019 | 2020 |
| Homeless | 7% | 6% |
| Hostel | 12% | 10% |
| JJC Care | <1% | 0% |
| NIHE/Housing Association | 39% | 43% |
| Owner Occupied | 15% | 17% |
| Private Rented | 24% | 21% |
| Residential Care | <1% | <1% |
| Roofless | 2% | 1% |
| Supported Living | 1% | 2% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
Source: PNP (Current Revised and Previous version)
Notes:
The current version of the PNP has been in use since 10th February 2021. 2021 data in Table 1 does not include any PNPs prior to 10th February.
Totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
“Refuse to answer” and blank responses are excluded from the totals.
Responses are for individuals per year. If an individual was committed more than once in a calendar year, they would have one response included if they selected the same accommodation type each time. However, if they selected a different accommodation type in a separate PNP then this would also be included separately.