Guidance

User guide to: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, England and Wales

Updated 6 November 2025

Applies to England and Wales

1. Introduction

This user guide is designed to be a useful reference guide with explanatory notes on the data issues and classifications that are key to the production and presentation of the Home Office’s annual statistical release, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, England and Wales.

The release contains official statistics in development on referrals to the Prevent Programme due to concerns that an individual is susceptible to radicalisation. The statistics cover the journey of the individuals from referral to adoption as a Channel case, broken down by demographic statistics and geography.

More information about official statistics in development can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website. The Home Office aims to improve the quality of data recording and assurance procedures so that these statistics can be designated as official statistics in future years.

1.1 Official statistics in development status review

These statistics are considered to have immediate value to users and help with the understanding of how many individuals in England and Wales are deemed susceptible to radicalisation and if suitable, how these individuals are supported by the Prevent Programme.

Since the publication of these statistics began in 2017, quality assurance exercises have shed light on various issues with the collection regarding consistency of recording case information, statuses and outcomes. A significant factor affecting the quality of data was that, until May 2024, there had been 2 separate database systems used for recording referral and case information at different stages of the Prevent Programme:

• the Prevent Case Management System (PCM) was used to record details of all referrals to Prevent and included information on the first stages of the process up until the point at which a case may be referred to a Channel panel
• the Channel Management Information System (CMIS) was used to record details of all cases that are referred to Channel, including the details for those individuals who are subsequently discussed and adopted at Panel; CMIS captured the later stages of the process for those individuals who reached this point

The 2 database systems were not linked and therefore a matching process had been required to create the dataset for publication showing individuals’ progress through the entire Prevent Programme. A limitation to this approach was that in some cases there was conflicting data about an individual on each system requiring manual processing.

Home Office analysts worked with Prevent policy colleagues and Counter Terrorism Policing to address these issues while the 2 systems remained in use up until May 2024, which included developing further guidance and training for police case officers and Channel practitioners. With the launch in May 2024 of the new single database Prevent Case Management Tracker (PCMT), replacing PCM and CMIS, many of the data quality issues previously experienced have been eliminated and data quality has improved. The statistics created within the latest release have come from PCMT. Home Office statisticians have reviewed the new system and produced thorough checks on any new data issues. The introduction of PCMT provides access to new variables. As a result, the latest release includes additional sections on consent, mental health and neurodiversity, and ethnicity.

2. Data quality

As described above, the statistics in this release come from the new system PCMT. Although the data is now stored on one system, the ownership of data is still split, however the Home Office and Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ) are both independent controllers of Channel data on PCMT.

The Home Office and CTPHQ have worked together to allow the Home Office to extract all data required for the publication and create a complete picture of the journey of individuals through the Prevent Programme.

The Home Office considers the data to be sufficiently robust, and the quality assurance process undertaken by the Home Office statisticians ensure the risk of data errors are minimised.

2.1 Quality assurance

Before data is published, it undergoes a strict quality assurance (QA) process. The first part is undertaken by data providers, who need to keep administrative datasets accurate and up to date for operational purposes.

Home Office and Counter-Terrorism Policing policy advisors review data from the system and will meet where potential inaccuracies in data recording are detected. When potential inaccuracies are found, the Home Office Channel Policy team will commission a sampling of cases in the identified areas with an aim to ensure that best practice is being followed in line with the Channel duty guidance.

The second part of the QA process is undertaken by statisticians within the Home Office. This part of the process identifies any potential data quality issues, which are then raised and resolved where possible with Regional Counter Terrorism Police coordinators.

Quality assurance is undertaken to confirm the figures presented in this release; however, the statistics rely on recording of information by police and local authority partners, so totals cannot be guaranteed to be complete and accurate. Home Office analysts will continue to work with data suppliers to improve the quality of these statistics as the collection continues.

Once the data has been extracted, a number of checks are undertaken. These are designed to identify things such as:

• incomplete fields
• inconsistencies in the data
• duplicated cases
• cases that are not up to date
• incorrect values in data fields

Once issues from the initial checks have been resolved, analysis is undertaken to check for unusual or unexpected trends in the data. Where alternative data sources are available, data may be cross-checked.

2.2 Limitations and caveats of the data

The limitations and caveats regarding this data are outlined below. Some of these limitations will be a by-product of the large-scale administrative processes required to collate these statistics. While the QA process is designed to minimise the scale of any data quality issues, there remain some limitations that even the most comprehensive of QA processes are unable to eliminate. The implications of the limitations are also outlined below.

Total Prevent referrals

This data comes from a live database which is regularly updated and in some cases there may be a delay in a particular case being entered into the system, therefore, at any given time, the published figures may not be 100% accurate.

The total number of referrals reported includes individuals who are referred more than once during the year. This information is included as each referral may not contain the same information (for example, different sector of referral). Including multiple referrals provides a fuller picture of all support recorded and provided through the Prevent Programme each year.

Where a person has multiple referrals within the 12-month period, only one referral is counted after the initial Prevent Referral stage to measure the number of people who have been discussed and adopted by a Channel panel. The referral with the earliest date is prioritised for inclusion in the statistics. If there are multiple referrals with the same date, the referral is prioritised based on the sector of referral. Each sector has been ranked based upon the total number of referrals from each sector where the referral has reached the discussion stage, with the highest sector being prioritised (apart from ‘other’). The ranking used in the latest release is:

1. police
2. education
3. health
4. local authority
5. HMPPS
6. friends and family
7. community
8. ‘other’

If multiple referrals have the same referral date and source of referral then one is selected at random.

Demographic information

Demographic information on individuals referred may not be complete in all cases, as this information is not self-reported. Also, the recording of this data is not mandatory in all cases, for example ethnicity. Therefore, the non-mandatory nature of this data limits the quality of this data for statistical purposes.

In this report, we refer to the sex of individuals referred to Prevent.

Type of concern raised

The type of concern presented is based upon information provided by the referrer. For cases that progress further into the programme, officers may update this based upon new information that comes to light. Therefore, the statistics regarding the ‘type of concern’ raised, are likely to include a mix of type of concern raised by original referrer and type of concern that the Channel case officers believe the individual is presenting with at a later point in the programme.

The type of concern categories were updated within the new PCMT to better describe the nature of concerns that are referred into Prevent. They were developed based on analysis of data available as well as consultation with frontline staff and policymakers about their experiences and requirements. The new type of concern categories do not exactly match onto previous years’ categories therefore there is a break in the time series and trends by type of concern should be interpreted carefully.

The type of concern categories within the new PCMT are: Islamist Extremism, Extreme Right-Wing, Left Wing Extremism, Anarchist Extremism, Northern Ireland related – Dissident Republican Extremism, Northern Ireland Related – Unionist/Loyalist Extremism, Environmental Extremism, InCel Extremism, Fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks (where no other ideology), multiple ideologies (with no dominant ideology), no ideology – other susceptibility to radicalisation identified, no ideology identified, Pro-Khalistan Extremism, Hindutva Extremism, other religious extremism and other type of concern.

For this release, any type of concern categories that received less than 10 referrals have been aggregated into an ‘other’ category to aid presentation. Please see the glossary of terms for more information regarding the type of concerns included within each category this year.

Mental health and neurodiversity

The new PCMT system that launched in May 2024 enabled the systematic recording of data on mental health and neurodiversity (MHND) of individuals referred into Prevent. The latest release features the first publication of the series with statistics relating to mental health and neurodiversity for those referred. As this data reporting is a new element on PCMT we expect that data quality will improve over time. Therefore the trends in this data over the next few years will need to be carefully interpreted as data coverage and quality improves. The MHND categories (listed in section below) are based on those recorded in PCMT. The Home Office and CTP are currently working to improve the MHND categories to align with NHS standards.

The statistics show the total number of referrals – not individuals - that had each mental health or neurodiversity condition recorded on the PCMT system. This means that if someone was referred multiple times during the year, and for each referral one or more of the mental health and neurodiversity categories was recorded, then each of those categories will be counted the same number of times that person has been referred. For example, if someone has been referred twice and has the conditions ‘Anxiety Disorder – confirmed’ and ‘Autistic Spectrum Disorder – unconfirmed’, they will each be counted twice, even though they refer to the same individual.

There are many referrals where there is no information on mental health or neurodiversity. This may mean that there were no mental health or neurodiversity conditions present, or that it was unknown. These are categorised as Unspecified.

Further details on the definitions can be found in Section 3.3 of this User guide.

Stage of the Prevent Programme referrals progressed to

The stage of the programme that the individual referred progressed to, is based upon the latest case status recorded at the time of data extraction. As a result, at any given time, the published figures regarding the number of referrals discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case may not be 100% accurate due to a time lag between decisions being taken and the case status updated on the PCMT system.

In the latest release there has been a change in the definition of ‘adoption’ to Channel to better reflect how practitioners understand the language of adoption. In previous releases, adoption to Channel was defined as those individuals whom the panel deems suitable for Channel support and who consent to participate. Those who were deemed suitable but did not consent to participate were included in the not-adopted category. In the latest release, ‘adoption’ to Channel is defined as all those whom the Channel panel deems suitable for Channel intervention, whether or not they later consent to participate. This means that Adoption figures for the latest release are not comparable to Adoption figures in previous releases. Due to this change, only figures for referrals made between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 can be found in the accompanying data tables in the latest release. This caused the removal of 2 tables which looked at historic data and adoption outcomes.

In previous releases there were 3 stages of the Prevent Programme – Prevent referral, discussed at a Channel panel, and adopted as a Channel case. In the latest release there are now additional details on the discussion and adoption stages, which are:

• discussed - suitable for Channel adoption
• discussed – not suitable for Channel adoption
• adopted – consented
• adopted – no consent
• adopted – unspecified

Further details of these stages can be found in Section 3.5 of this User guide.

Services signposted to

Data quality checks found that in some cases, Channel case officers are recording that an individual has been ‘signposted to a service’ following case closure, when notifying the source of referral to re-refer if concerns are raised again in future. Therefore, the statistics on the number of individuals referred to alternative services may include services providing new support following case closure, and services continuing to support the individual following their exit from the Prevent Programme.

When first launched in May 2024 there was no onward referral field included in PCMT. To retrieve the data for this publication, CTPHQ manually extracted the information through case notes for individuals with a closure outcome of ‘Non-CT concerns referred on’. For cases where the information was not clear from the case notes, CTPHQ reached out to different regions for further details. Due to processing issues, 4% of referrals with a closure outcome of ‘non-CT concerns referred on’ do not have an onward referral value at the time of data extraction. These can be seen as ‘unspecified’ in Table 2. There are plans to add the onward referral field back into PCMT in the future.

Consent outcome

Channel is a voluntary programme. Therefore, when a case is adopted by a Channel panel, the next step is to seek consent from the individual for Channel support. Whilst in Channel an individual can remove their consent at any time. For the latest release, the consent outcome is the latest outcome at the time of data extraction.

In the latest release there were no cases where consent was pending at the time of data extraction, and therefore this category has not been included in the accompanying data tables.

Differences between the processes of PCM/CMIS and PCMT

Due to the change to PCMT the date of data extraction for the latest release is later than the date seen in previous releases. Where the month of extraction was previously May for a December publication, data has now been extracted in September for a November publication, providing more up to date data. The extra time between March and September for this release means that cases have had more time to be progressed and potentially close, resulting in fewer open cases than in previous years.

There have also been improvements in the details recorded on PCMT compared to PCM/CMIS. These improvements mean that new categories are now available and these have been presented in the latest release and more information can be found in Section 3.2 of this User guide. With the new recording methods it has meant there are new methodologies for creating the figures in Tables 2 and 3 in the accompanying data tables. Home Office statisticians have created the figures as closely to the old method as possible.

2.2 Data quality statement

Based on the summary above, we are satisfied that the data in this release are fit for purpose. As with all large administrative datasets, there will be some inaccuracies in the data and while they should be considered, they do not detract significantly from the overall trends. The QA processes in place at all stages of the process further minimise the scale of the data quality issues.

Where there are known data quality issues, these are highlighted in the relevant parts of the bulletin, user guide, or accompanying data tables.

Home Office statisticians continue to work with Home Office policy advisors and Counter-Terrorism Policing Head Quarters colleagues to develop further guidance and inform the updated training delivered to Channel case officers to improve consistency of recording.

3. Glossary of terms

This glossary is intended to give an overview of the terms used in the statistical release, rather than full legal/technical descriptions. If there are terms in Prevent Programme statistical releases that you would like to be included in this glossary, please contact Home Office Statisticians via: HSAI_Statistics@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Term: CMIS

Definition: This is an acronym used for the Channel Management Information System. This was the previous database used to manage cases that are deemed suitable for the Channel programme following a referral to Prevent.

Term: Channel case

Definition: Following agreement at the first Channel panel, a referral is adopted as a Channel case in order to further assess susceptibility, or to provide a tailored package of support where necessary and proportionate to do so. Cases who were recommended at Channel panel for adoption but where the individual did not consent or withdrew consent are counted as ‘Adopted - no consent’. This differs from previous releases where they were counted as ‘Not adopted as a Channel case’.

Term: Channel case officer

Definition: A Channel case officer refers to the police counter-terrorism case officer. Channel case officers are responsible for managing referrals and cases through the Channel process in accordance with the Channel guidance and case management principles. See the Channel duty guidance for further information.

Term: Channel panel

Definition: A Channel panel, chaired by the local authority, and attended by other partners such as representatives from education and health services, will meet to discuss the referral. They will discuss the extent of the terrorism susceptibility, assess all the circumstances of the case, and decide whether to adopt the individual as a Channel case and oversee the provision of support to address identified concerns. Channel was placed on a statutory footing under Section 36 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (the Act).

Term: Prevent

Definition: Prevent forms part of the Government’s wider counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST. Prevent aims to safeguard people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. For more information, please see the following publications on the GOV.UK website: Prevent duty guidance, Channel duty guidance and 2023 CONTEST strategy.

Term: Prevent duty

Definition: Section 26 of the Act places a duty on certain bodies (“specified authorities” listed in Schedule 6 to the Act), in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This guidance is issued under section 29 of the Act. The Act states that the authorities subject to the provisions must have regard to this guidance when carrying out the duty. Please see the Prevent duty guidance for further information.

Term: Unspecified

Definition: The term ‘unspecified’ is used in the data tables and narrative report of this publication where data is not available. This can be where database fields have not been completed, data is missing, or where a field has been completed as ‘not applicable’.

3.1 Source of referral categories

Term: Community

Definition: This includes those in the community that are not a friend or family member of the individual they are referring and are not subject to the Prevent duty. This includes members of the public, charity workers, sports clubs, and faith leaders, for example.

Term: Education

Definition: This includes professionals working in schools and higher and further education institutions.

Term: Friends and family

Definition: This includes friends or family members of the individual referred.

Term: Health

Definition: This includes professionals working in the health sector including GPs, mental health professionals and hospital staff.

Term: HMPPS

Definition: This includes staff working for HM Prison and Probation Service, including Youth Offender Services.

Term: Local authority

Definition: This includes those providing a local authority service, including social services, housing services and children services.

Term: Police

Definition: This includes both local policing and Counter-Terrorism Policing.

Term: Other source of referral

Definition: This includes those working in sectors that are not covered by the other sources of referral, for example those working in military, government (includes Home Office Enforcement and HMRC), or other private sectors of employment.

3.2 Type of concern categories:

There are currently 16 type of concern categories in use in the new PCMT system. These are listed below with the definitions that are used in the PCMT guidance for case officers.

Term: Extreme Right-Wing

Definition: This category refers to a spectrum of thought revolving around the 3 main ERW ideological positions: Cultural Nationalism (‘Western Culture’ is superior and under threat), White Supremacism and Nationalism (belief in the superiority of the ‘white race’ and/or advocating for an ‘all white’ homeland).

Term: Islamist Extremism

Definition: This category refers to the political ideology that seeks the imposition of Sharia Law and the establishment of ‘khilafah’ or an Islamic caliphate.

Term: Left Wing Extremism

Definition: This category refers to the spectrum of thought that advocates for significant societal and political change through extreme, invariably violent, anti-corporate, revolutionary means. They often argue that capitalism and consumerism need to be overturned with the forced redistribution of property and wealth with public ownership of all utilities and industry.

Term: Anarchist Extremism

Definition: This category refers to the spectrum of thought that is anti-authority, anti-governance and anti-state. Will often advocate the use of violence to advance their cause in seeking to overthrow the State and the government in all their forms. While Left Wing Extremism is not necessarily anti-government in principle, Anarchism is fundamentally anti-government in all its manifestations. Whilst anarchism is often considered a radical politically left-wing ideology, some anarchist schools of thought fall outside this (for example, anarcho-capitalism, nihilism).

Term: Northern Ireland related – Dissident Republican Extremism

Definition: This category reflects those with concerns related to support for Republican Northern Ireland Related Terrorism ideologies.

Term: Northern Ireland related – Unionist/Loyalist Extremism

Definition: This category reflects those with concerns related to support for Unionist/Loyalist Northern Ireland Related Terrorism ideologies.

Term: Environmental extremism

Definition: This category reflects extremist concerns related to a spectrum of environmental issues, including narratives or activities that demonstrate a willingness to justify or participate in violence/harm.

Term: InCel

Definition: This category refers to an individual who is associated with the ‘Involuntary Celibate’ movement. Potentially extremist InCel concerns would involve aggressive hatred towards women and calls for extreme violence or other serious offences against those whom InCels regard as their ‘enemies’ or the cause of their insecurities.

Term: Fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks (where no other ideology)

Definition: This is a new category on the PCMT system for this year. This category reflects where an individual does not appear to have an ideology, but seems to have an interest in committing extreme or mass violence, which makes them a concern for Prevent. This could include those interested in school massacres but also where violence is targeted at other settings or individuals and is not based on a specific ideological motivation.

Term: Pro-Khalistan Extremism

Definition: This category refers to advocating, glorifying or supporting violence or violent actors in the pursuit of a separate independent Sikh state (Khalistan).

Term: Hindutva Extremism

Definition: This category refers to one form of Hindu Ultra Nationalism that believes in Hindu Supremacy and seeks to establish India as a Hindu state.

Term: Other religious extremism – other ideology motivated by extremist interpretation of religion

Definition: This category refers to individuals where concerns relate to extremist views based on an individual’s religious beliefs (or their interpretation of religious beliefs) and is not captured anywhere else.

Term: Multiple ideologies (with no dominant ideology)

Definition: This category reflects where an individual is displaying a genuine mixture of different ideologies, without any clear dominant ideology, such as ERW and Islamist Extremism or ERW and Left Wing Extremism.

Term: No ideology – other susceptibility to radicalisation identified

Definition: This category reflects individuals where there appears to be no evidence of an ideology in any of the information available but who have other susceptibilities that officers believe, or suspect are still a concern for Prevent.

Term: No ideology identified

Definition: This category reflects individuals where there has been no evidence of an ideology in any of the information available.

Term: Other ideology not already listed

Definition: This category is used where the individual poses a concern and has an ideology that is not already captured under an existing category.

For the latest statistical release, to ease clarity of presentation, any types of concern with less than 10 referrals during the year have been grouped into an ‘Other’ category, along with any referrals for ‘Other ideology not already listed’. For this release the following type of concern categories are included within ‘Other’:

• Environmental Extremism
• Northern Ireland related – Unionist / Loyalist extremism
• Pro-Khalistan extremism (PKE)
• Hindutva Extremism
• other ideology not already listed
• other religious extremism – other ideology motivated by extremist interpretation of religion

Below are the terms and definitions for additional types of concern categories that have been used in previous years’ releases. These categories are no longer in use in PCMT.

Term: School massacre

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2018 to 2019 through to 2023 to 2024. This category reflects those who are vulnerable due to being fixated with school massacre or extreme mass violence without targeting a particular group.

Term: High CT risk but no ideology present

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2019 to 2020 through to 2023 to 2024. This category is used when there is no clear ideological link to the concerns raised on referral but a CT risk is still identified as present. It is used retrospectively by case officers once further information gathering has been completed.

Term: Vulnerability present but no ideology or CT risk

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2019 to 2020 through to 2023 to 2024. This category is used when there is no clear ideological link to the concerns raised on referral. It is used retrospectively by case officers once further information gathering has been completed.

Term: No risk, vulnerability or ideology

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2019 to 2020 through to 2023 to 2024. This category is used when there is no clear ideological link to the concerns raised on referral. It is used retrospectively by case officers once further information gathering has been completed.

Term: Conflicted

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2019 to 2020 through to 2023 to 2024. This category reflects instances where the type of concern presented involves a combination of elements from multiple ideologies (mixed), shifts between different ideologies (unstable), or where the individual does not present a coherent ideology yet may still be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism (unclear). On the PCM system this is recorded as ‘Conflicted’.

Term: No specific extremism issue

Definition: This category was an option on the Prevent Case Management system from 2016 to 2017 through to 2019 to 2020. It describes cases that do not have a clear, specific ideological concern. This category is no longer in use.

Term: Other

Definition: For the statistical releases prior to the use of PCMT, the following options within the old Prevent data recording system were included within an ‘other’ category:

• left wing extremism
• Northern Ireland related extremism
• animal rights extremism
• environmental extremism
• international separatist-related extremism
• international (other) extremism

3.3 Mental health and neurodiversity

The latest release features the first publication of the series with statistics relating to mental health and neurodiversity of referrals. A referral can have multiple mental health/neurodiversity conditions. The definitions below have been taken from a mixture of ONS and NHS. Work is ongoing to ensure the definitions in PCMT align with the ONS.

Term: Anxiety disorder

Definition: A group of mental health disorders involving excessive fear or worry, including generalised anxiety, phobias, panic disorder, etc.

Term: Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Definition: A developmental condition affecting social interaction, communication, interests, and behaviour.

Term: Bipolar Effective Disorder

Definition: Mental health conditions involving extreme mood swings, including manic and depressive episodes.

Term: Eating disorder

Definition: Includes conditions like anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder, involving disturbed eating behaviours.

Term: Learning disorder

Definition: A neurodevelopmental disorder with persistent difficulties in learning and using academic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics.

Term: Personality disorder

Definition: Enduring patterns of behaviour and inner experiences that deviate from societal expectations and cause impairment.

Term: Psychotic disorder

Definition: A condition that affects the mind and causes a loss of contact with reality, with symptoms like hallucinations and delusions.

Term: Schizophrenia

Definition: A long-term mental health condition that causes a range of psychological symptoms, often referred to as a type of psychosis.

Term: Self-harm

Definition: When somebody intentionally damages or injures their body.

Term: Suicide risk

Definition: Likelihood that an individual may attempt or die by suicide, based on a combination of psychological, social, biological, and environmental factors.

Term: Other

Definition: Where Other has been specified and additional information has been added as free text, for example ADHD. The Other category can have more than one condition, for this reason we cannot split the data by Confirmed and Unconfirmed.

Term: Confirmed

Definition: Where there’s been a formal diagnosis, or, where the individual or another practitioner has confirmed the presence of the MHND condition.

Term: Unconfirmed

Definition: Where the individual is thought to have the MHND condition by either the Prevent case officer, the person who referred to Prevent or the individual themselves.

3.4 Ethnicity

The latest release features the first publication of the series with statistics relating to a referral’s ethnicity. The recording of this data is not mandatory. Therefore, the non-mandatory nature of this data limits the usefulness and quality of this data for statistical purposes. For the purpose of the publication, we have grouped the PCMT ethnicity values.

PCMT ethnicity: Asian

Group: Asian

PCMT ethnicity: Chinese, Japanese or South East Asian

Group: Asian

PCMT ethnicity: Black

Group: Black

PCMT ethnicity: Middle Eastern

Group: Other

PCMT ethnicity: White - north European

Group: White

PCMT ethnicity: White – south European

Group: White

PCMT ethnicity: Unknown/blank

Group: Unspecified

Figures on ethnicity are based on the ethnicity of an individual as reported by the person making the referral to Prevent or as later updated on the system by a case officer as more information about an individual comes to light.

The ethnicity categories in the latest release draw from those listed on PCMT. The Home Office and CTPHQ are currently working to improve the ethnicity categories to align with ONS standards.

3.5 Stage of Prevent Programme

Term: Prevent referrals

Definition: These are all referrals made to the Prevent Programme. Multiple referrals can be made for the same person.

Term: Prevent referrals requiring no further action

Definition: These are referrals made to the Prevent Programme which will not progress to the next stage and have not been referred to another service. This is because they are either not deemed to be a risk of radicalisation, or they have had multiple referrals and only one is counted as progressing.

Term: Prevent referrals, referred to other services

Definition: These are referrals made to the Prevent Programme which will not progress to the next stage but have been referred to another service. This is because they are not deemed to be a risk of radicalisation but still may require additional help.

Term: Open at information gathering

Definition: These are referrals made to the Prevent Programme which are pending a decision on their next stage.

Term: Discussed - suitable for Channel adoption

Definition: These are referrals to the Prevent Programme who have been discussed at a Channel panel and have been deemed suitable for Channel adoption.

Term: Discussed – not suitable for Channel adoption

Definition: These are referrals to the Prevent Programme who have been discussed at a Channel panel and have been deemed not suitable for Channel adoption.

Term: Discussed at a Channel panel but adoption decision pending

Definition: These are referrals to the Prevent Programme who have been discussed at a Channel panel and are pending a decision on whether to be adopted or not.

Term: Not adopted as a Channel Case, referred to other services

Definition: This includes those discussed and deemed not suitable for Channel adoption, but have been referred elsewhere for additional help.

Term: Adopted – consented

Definition: This includes referrals who have been discussed and recommended to be adopted as a Channel case and have provided their consent to receive support.

Term: Adopted – no consent

Definition: This includes referrals who have been discussed and recommended to be adopted as a Channel case and have not provided their consent to receive support. It also includes the referrals who had once consented but later changed their decision, and the referrals where consent is not required. Cases where consent is not required references those that were adopted by the Channel panel but are no longer suitable for Channel support and therefore, consent is no longer required.

Term: Adopted – unspecified

Definition: This includes referrals who have been discussed and recommended to be adopted as a Channel case but have an empty consent outcome on PCMT.

Term: Case closed, referred to other services

Definition: This includes Channel cases that were closed as the Panel believed that the risk of radicalisation was suitably reduced, however they may still need additional help elsewhere.

3.6 Channel case outcomes

Term: Case closed – no further radicalisation concerns

Definition: This includes Channel cases that were closed as the Panel believed that the risk of radicalisation was suitably reduced and the objectives of the intervention were sufficiently addressed.

Term: Case closed – withdrew or withdrawn

Definition: This includes Channel cases that were closed as the individual concerned would not engage with the support provided or the police withdrew the individual from Channel as the risk had increased. In these circumstances, the police will manage any risk of terrorism they might present.

4. Conventions and revisions

4.1 Rounding

Data is provided unrounded in the data tables of the Prevent statistics releases. This is to promote transparency and allow users to exploit the data further.

Percentages, percentage changes and proportions presented in the releases are rounded to the nearest per cent using the ‘round half away from zero’ method. Therefore, in the borderline case where the fraction of the percentage is exactly 0.5, the rounded figure is equal to y + 0.5 if y is positive, and y - 0.5 if y is negative. For example, 23.5% is rounded to 24%, and -23.5% is rounded to -24%.

Where data is rounded, it may not sum to the totals shown, or, in the case of percentages, to 100%, because it has been rounded independently.

4.2 Revisions

The presented figures are correct at the time of publication and may include revisions for the periods covered by, and received since, the publication of the previous edition in the series.

Data may be revised for various reasons. For example, open cases are presented in this release based on the latest position as at the date of data provision to the Home Office. Counter-Terrorism Policing will ask Regional Prevent coordinators for updates on any Channel cases that were open at the time of publication for previous releases and updated in the subsequent release. Substantial revisions to figures presented in earlier editions should they occur, are described in the ‘Revisions analysis’ section in each release.

Corrections and revisions follow the Home Office corporate revisions policy, as detailed on page 6 of its statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

4.3 Missing data

Across the data collection phase for each annual publication, there is a small subset of cases that do not have a complete data record. This can arise for several reasons including the partial completion of referral forms when a referral is added to the system. Home Office and CTPHQ analysts work together to investigate these cases as best as possible, but for some cases missing fields cannot be fully rectified and remain incomplete.

Home Office analysts maintain a quality assurance log to record each case with missing fields, which is used to review and determine the inclusion of each individual case based on the amount of information missing. Although a level of data missingness exists across each data collection, this is a small subset of cases and Home Office analysts are confident this still captures the full picture.

5. Uses of the data

Specific uses of the data are listed below:

a) Informing the general public:

• about the state of the economy, society and the environment – figures are made available to increase transparency around the Prevent Programme and provide the public with an accurate source of information on referrals
• about the activity of the police – figures are requested via Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests

b) Government policy making and monitoring:

• statistics are used to inform government policy by providing a national overview of how the programme is working on the ground

c) Resource allocation – typically by central and local government:

• statistics are used, alongside other information, to help determine the locations where the threat from terrorism and radicalisation is greatest, in order to allocate resources accordingly

d) Third parties:

• statistics are used by a range of third parties from civil liberty groups to academics

5.1 Where are the latest published figures?

Dates of future releases are pre-announced on the Statistics: release calendar on GOV.UK.

Home Office statistical releases on the Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme are available on the GOV.UK website.

Information on how the Home Office complies with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics is also on the GOV.UK website.

5.2 Related publications

Prevent Referral Data - Police Scotland

Police Scotland publish statistics on the number of individuals referred to Prevent in Scotland.

5.3 Feedback and enquiries

We welcome feedback on the statistics.

If you have any feedback or enquiries about this publication, please contact HSAI_Statistics@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Home Office Responsible Statistician:

Jodie Hargreaves, Head of Police Statistics.

The ‘Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme’ release has been produced to the highest professional standards and free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in the Home Office Analysis and Insight Directorate in accordance with the Home Office’s ‘Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics’ which covers our policy on revisions and other matters. The Chief Statistician and the Head of Profession, report to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office Official Statistics products with respect to the Code of Practice, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology.