Shelter's Prisoners' Project is funded by the Scottish Government and provides housing advice to prisoners in the North and North East of Scotland.

Founded in 2000, the project works with prisoners in three prisons in this area: Inverness, Aberdeen City and Perth.

Aims of the project

• To improve the availability and quality of housing advice to all Scottish prisoners.
• To provide housing advice training, consultancy and referral services.
• To provide housing advice surgeries within the prisons and detailed casework with individual prisoners.
• To identify individuals or groups of prisoners with more complex and enduring accommodation problems.
• To work with all relevant agencies to develop and pilot accommodation models.

How the project operates

The project trains prison officers to give basic advice regarding a variety of housing issues including:

• housing benefit claims
• housing application forms
• rent arrears
• applying for sublets and assignations
  
• homeless presentations
• terminating tenancies
• prevention of abandonment procedure being instigated.

The prisoner is asked to complete a referral form available in the prison Halls and from the information given, the officers give the appropriate advice and assistance, or refer to the project workers who hold twice weekly surgeries within the prisons. If the issue is complex, the officers consult the Prison Project workers through our advice line. Surgeries give us the opportunity to interview the prisoners and ensure they receive proper information regarding their rights. If necessary, we advocate on their behalf, liaising with the relevant agencies. For example, we can help:

• with housing benefit applications and back-date requests
  
• when housing benefit claims are not processed correctly
• when rent arrears have accrued and eviction proceedings have begun due to housing benefit delays for any other reason
  
• with illegal non-acceptance onto housing waiting lists
• with detailed homelessness presentations
• with negotiating and making agreements with landlords
• terminating tenancies
• with assignations and sublets.

The prison officers and Prison Advice Project have successfully built up a high profile, establishing good relations between the prisons and many housing services. Housing officers, support workers and other landlords regularly contact the prison officers directly for help in communicating with their tenants or applicants to ensure prisoners sustain their current tenancies or to ensure their applications or claims are processed as smoothly as possible.

How the project helps

A central focus of the Prison Advice Project's work is on the importance of giving the right information at the right time. For example:

Housing benefit advice preventing loss of tenancy

A young man in jail on remand was visited by his landlord and asked to sign a termination form for his tenancy. Prison officers advised him that this was not necessary, as he was entitled to 52 weeks' housing benefit while he remained on remand. The officers assisted in the withdrawal of the termination and helped him to complete and send off a housing benefit form, which meant his rent continued to be paid. His tenancy therefore remained available on his liberation from court and homelessness was prevented.

Advocacy preventing eviction

A prisoner serving a short custodial sentence completed a housing benefit form with help from an officer. However, a few months later his relatives informed him that eviction proceedings have begun due to non-payment of rent. The prison officers had retained a copy of the original housing benefit form and a letter the local authority had sent in reply to it. Copies were sent to the local authority, the prisoner's housing benefit was paid and the eviction stopped. His tenancy was therefore available for use on liberation and homelessness was prevented.

Sublet advice preventing termination of tenancy and homelessness

A sublet request was made by a prisoner serving a three-year sentence. The request was verbally refused by the local authority, who stated that 'sublets are fraud and illegal'. The prison officer contacted the housing assistant armed with the legal rights of the prisoner and submitted a proper written request. The sublet was subsequently allowed and the tenancy is now running smoothly, with the sublet tenant provided with proper housing benefit advice by the prisoner, who had been given the information by the officer. The tenancy will now be available to him on liberation and homelessness will be prevented.

Housing application advice, preventing refusal on to waiting lists

A local authority decision refused to allow prisoners on to the housing waiting list as they were considered 'antisocial', even though they had not been served with antisocial behaviour orders and had never been council tenants before. Local authorities also cited the lack of local connection with the area as a reason for refusal, despite the fact that this became illegal in 2001. Prison officers and Shelter have successfully fought against this for years and prisoners have received no refusals of this kind for a while.

Homelessness rights advice avoiding rough sleeping on liberation

Homelessness rights advice is given to all prisoners. This includes information on their rights to temporary accommodation, information on priority need and on the right to review, etc. If required, officers can make homeless appointments and help with presentations, ensuring that local authorities are aware of prisoners' special needs, if any. Referrals are also made to outside through-care support agencies if required and requested.

Contact details

Diane Connock / Becky Fraser / Linda Bulle

Shelter Prison Advice Project
1 Courthouse Square
Dundee DD1 1NH

Tel: 0808 800 4444