Early Prison Releases Face Shortage of Supervised Housing

Eleven approved premises in England and Wales meant to house early-release prisoners were closed, the Guardian disclosed on 7 October 2026. The Guardian

Seven were shut for lack of qualified staff. Four were shut for physical problems such as infestations or lack of running water. Nearly one in eight premises for high-risk offenders was therefore unavailable during the early release scheme.

The network totals 104 approved premises across England and Wales. Eight are facilities for women. The system supervises about 2,000 people assessed as too dangerous to release directly into the community. Residents live in the hostels for up to 12 weeks.

About 700 male offenders, including violent criminals and burglars, had been released six days before the closure figures emerged. The early release cohort includes stalkers and domestic abusers. About 700 offenders from dozens of prisons had been expected to be freed on the Thursday in early October. The Guardian

Three sites have been named. Western approved premises in Weymouth houses 27 offenders and will close on 9 October because of staffing shortages. Bridgewood approved premises in Northampton monitors 17 high-risk offenders and was closed earlier in 2026 because of staff shortages. Lightfoot House in Ipswich, operating under the East of England Probation Service, is among the closed premises.

Overnight staff cover had been provided by private companies Sodexo and OCS under contracts that expired. Residential workers provide 24-hour cover at an approved premises site, including security and monitoring. Martin Jones is HM inspector of probation. Ian Lawrence is the general secretary of the probation officers' union Napo.

As of 1 October 2026, 2,000 people were due to be released over the next month to ease prison overcrowding. From 1 October 2026, the early-release changes apply to prisoners convicted of less serious offences who currently spend 40% or 50% of their sentence in prison. Around 4,500 inmates are expected to be released early by June 2027 under a scheme designed to stop prisons becoming full. BBC

In July 2026, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that nine out of 105 approved premises were closed. The October figure is eleven out of 104, up from nearly one in ten in July to nearly one in eight. In a previous release, 1,700 prisoners were freed early in September 2024 to ease overcrowding.

Approved premises were formerly known as bail hostels. They are residential units providing temporary placement in the community for high-risk and complex people on probation, a supervised step between prison and independent living. CAS-3 provides temporary accommodation for up to 84 days to prison leavers and people on probation moving on from Approved Premises and Bail Accommodation. Debbie Beadle is chief executive of Fearfree, which works to end domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking in the South West.

The broader context here is throughput rather than a single release date. A 12-week maximum stay and an 84-day CAS-3 move-on window mean beds turn slowly. If eleven premises remain out of use while 2,000 releases proceed over a month and 4,500 proceed by June 2027, probation managers face a narrower set of placements for people assessed as requiring supervision. The closures in Weymouth, Northampton and Ipswich and the expired overnight-cover contracts point to recruitment and retention rather than buildings alone.