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Prisoners being released early is one of the biggest pressures that housing and homelessness services face, a council has said.<\/p>\n
Cardiff council said it received mixed reports “every other day” about how many prison leavers it would have to support with already under-strain services.<\/p>\n
With temporary accommodation across the city already full, it is looking to purchase a hotel, student accommodation, and a house of multiple occupations to provide people with homes.<\/p>\n
This comes after the Labour government implemented plans<\/a> to tackle overcrowding in prisons, releasing 1,700 convicts<\/a> in England and Wales on 10 September. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cardiff council cabinet member for housing Lynda Thorne questioned the decision by the prison service to release all of the prisoners on the same day.<\/p>\n She said: “I don\u2019t know why they can\u2019t [do it] in one or two a day over three months rather than all in one day.<\/p>\n “It has got to be easier for the prison service, for probation and certainly for us.”<\/p>\n Cardiff has the second highest number of expected releases across England and Wales under the SDS40 scheme, according to Cardiff council.<\/p>\n It said it had to support 11 prison leavers with housing in a single day on 10 September.<\/p>\n Cardiff council\u2019s director of adults, housing and communities, Jane Thomas, said: “They [prison leavers] were risk assessed and placed in appropriate placements. <\/p>\n “[In] the run up, the information was very misleading I think it is true to say.<\/p>\n “We had various different reports because obviously the probation service were also having to deal with this really quickly.”<\/p>\n She said the probation service was providing them with “different lists every other day” but that they “got there in the end”.<\/p>\n The council is expecting to deal with more released prisoners on 22 October – but it is unable to say yet how many it will have to support.<\/p>\n If it goes ahead with the purchase of the three properties it is in negotiations for, 280 units could be used to house people needing accommodation.<\/p>\n There are currently about 8,000 people on Cardiff council\u2019s housing waiting list.<\/p>\n Acceleration of decision making on asylum applications is also expected to bring more pressure on the council\u2019s homelessness service.<\/p>\n Many asylum seekers have already been living in Cardiff for a number of years, but they will be entitled to seek support with housing from the council if they are granted leave to remain in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n