Transparency data

Unpaid work management information - Summary

Published 8 May 2025

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unpaid-work-management-information-update-to-december-2024/unpaid-work-management-information-summary

1. Introduction

Unpaid work, also known as community payback, is one of the options available to sentencers at court. The purpose of unpaid work is to provide punishment and reparation, with individuals carrying out work on projects which benefit their local communities.

A person can receive an unpaid work requirement when they receive one of the following types of court order:

  • community orders
  • suspended sentence orders
  • youth rehabilitation orders
  • enforcement orders
  • supervision default orders
  • orders made in other UK jurisdictions where the case has transferred

This release provides data on the delivery of unpaid work from 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2024. The comparison of periods takes into consideration the latest quarter of data (October 2024 to December 2024) and the matching period of the previous year (October 2023 to December 2023). By analysing the same quarter of both years, the key points and comparisons are not impacted by the seasonal nature of unpaid work delivery.

2. Individuals with unpaid work

Where a person has been sentenced to an order with a regular unpaid work requirement, the start date is usually the sentence date. In the context of this release, a termination is recorded where a person, order or unpaid work requirement has ended, and there is no more active involvement.

  • In the quarter to December 2024, 11,915 individuals were sentenced to unpaid work, an increase of 1.4 percent from 11,755 in the same period in 2023.
  • In the quarter to December 2024, there were 11,930 individuals with unpaid work terminating, representing a decrease of 4.3 percent from 12,465 for the same period in in the previous year.
  • Of the 12 probation regions across England and Wales, eight regions saw an increase in the number of individuals sentenced to unpaid work when compared to the same period in 2023.

Figure 1: Individuals with unpaid work sentenced and individuals with unpaid work terminating, by region, 1 October to 31 December 2024

(Source: Unpaid work management information data tables; Table 2 and Table 6)

3. Hours of unpaid work

Individuals can be sentenced to undertake between 40 hours and 300 hours of unpaid work which should be completed in 12 months from sentencing.

  • 1,525,980 hours of unpaid work were sentenced in the quarter to December 2024, an increase of 2.0 percent from 1,496,535 in the same period in 2023.
  • In the quarter to December 2024, 1,972,845 hours of unpaid work were offered, representing a decrease of 4.8 percent from 2,071,945 hours of unpaid work offered over the same period in the previous year.
  • 1,070,185 hours of unpaid work were credited in the quarter to December 2024, a decrease of 4.2 percent from 1,116,660 hours of unpaid work credited in the same period in 2023.

Figure 2: Unpaid work hours sentenced, hours offered and hours credited, by region, 1 October to 31 December 2024

(Source: Unpaid work management information data tables; Table 5, Table 11 and Table 12)

4. Further insights

  • 372,845 sessions of unpaid work were offered between 1 October 2024 and 31 December 2024 representing a decrease on the 375,955 sessions offered between 1 October 2023 and 31 December 2023.
  • 229,925 sessions of unpaid work completed between 1 October 2024 and 31 December 2024 representing an increase on the 228,125 sessions completed over the same period in 2023.
  • At 31 December 2024, there were a total of 34,455 individuals with active unpaid work, a decrease from 38,895 at 31 December 2023.
  • Of the 12 probation regions across England and Wales, 11 regions saw a decrease in the number of individuals with active unpaid work at 31 December 2024 compared to 31 December 2023.

5. Project Clean Streets

Through Rapid Deployment Projects – Project Clean Streets, Probation Community Payback teams work in partnership with local authorities to rapidly clean up instances of antisocial behaviour. The work includes clearance of fly tipping sites, litter picking and graffiti removal within 48 hours of notification.

Since its launch in 2023, the Rapid Deployment Project has been rolled out in 11 probation regions, with implementation in the East Midlands remaining to commence.

  • 605 individuals attended a Project Clean Streets session in the quarter to December 2024, delivering 14,475 of hours of unpaid work.

6. Further information

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

  • Unpaid work management information – Guidance
  • Unpaid work management information – Data tables
  • Unpaid work management information – Project Clean Streets data tables

Enquiries about these management information should be directed to:

E Stradling
HMPPS Performance Unit, Analysis Directorate
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
Email: CrossCuttingPerformanceEnquiries@justice.gov.uk

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