History. No count from past schemes: hostel places were not recorded in them. The checker compares Hunch with the page base of 5 of 5.
Hunch. Asked about the closures on 7 October, the Ministry of Justice pointed to probation money and new officers, with no word on hostels.
The hostel market resolves on Ministry of Justice statements on gov.uk: YES if before 10 November it announces money or a plan to reopen or add approved premises, and NO if not. Money already announced does not count.
We looked for cases where a government in England and Wales or Scotland let prisoners out early to free up space, and checked whether it changed the plan once it began. We found five since 2007, three in England and Wales and two in Scotland.