Ex-offenders should come second to "decent" and local people in housing allocation, the Conservatives told the government during the a debate on the Homelessness Bill this week.

Shadow housing minister Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who is new to the post, suggested that priority housing provided by the bill should exclude those people who had been out of prison for less than six months, while those who had lived in an area for more than one year should take priority.

"If we are to give criminals...priority over some of these people, it will make it even harder for ordinary decent people who for one reason or another are at the bottom of the pile and have never been high enough to be considered for priority for housing", he told the Commons.

Forum Response: Shelter

A spokesman for Shelter told ePolitix.com: "Shelter supports the extension of priority need to include vulnerable ex-offenders. Housing should form a key part of the rehabilitation programme; providing vulnerable ex-offenders with good quality, supported accommodation can only help them to reintegrate into society and avoid re-offending."