Accredited Programme Sentences and Starts Ad Hoc
Published 22 July 2025
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/accredited-programme-sentences-and-starts-ad-hoc/accredited-programme-sentences-and-starts-ad-hoc
Introduction
This ad hoc provides transparency on the volumes of accredited programmes sentenced or supervised by the Probation Service in the community. These data cover two separate reporting points and should not be directly compared as the programme requirements may relate to different sentences.
Section one describes the volume of Accredited Programmes on community sentences, and are either sentenced at court or assessed as suitable after sentencing; these data are reported from the date the order was sentenced. Section two describes the volume of community sentences and licence conditions imposed on release from custody, with an Accredited Programme and the proportion which started the programme; these data are reported from the date the sentence ended.
As it measures accredited programmes or Rehabilitative Activity Requirements that are sentenced by the court, data in section 1 are measured at the date of sentence.
In contrast, data in section 2 is measured at the date of sentence termination. Accredited programmes may start at any point during a person’s supervision. Often, the person has higher priority needs to address before attendance at an accredited programme, such as accommodation needs or addressing substance misuse. Additionally, these data are reporting people sentenced to an accredited programme but who didn’t start one. To accurately assess this, the person’s supervision must have terminated, as beyond this point, it will no longer be possible for the accredited programme to start. Consequently, the measure is for the cohort of sentences terminating in the reporting period.
1. Accredited Programmes Sentenced
Details the volumes of Accredited Programmes either sentenced at court, or added after sentencing when the suitable programme has been determined.
1.1. Accredited Programmes Sentenced at Court
These data show the volume of Accredited Programmes sentenced on community orders, where the programme was included in the sentence of the court. These data are broken down by programme type and the reporting period when the community order was sentenced.
Table 1: Accredited Programmes sentenced at court between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Accredited Programme Type | Apr 2022 to Mar 2023 | Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 | Apr 2024 to Jun 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Better Relationships | 5082 | 4950 | 1110 | 11142 |
| Building Choices | 54 | 788 | 519 | 1361 |
| Horizon | 1465 | 1473 | 369 | 3307 |
| iHorizon | 452 | 336 | 64 | 852 |
| New Me Strengths | 150 | 122 | 18 | 290 |
| Not Specified by Court | 657 | 1255 | 652 | 2564 |
| Thinking Skills | 3356 | 3334 | 658 | 7348 |
| Other | 27 | 14 | 1 | 42 |
| Total | 11243 | 12272 | 3391 | 26906 |
Recording Practice
When a specific Accredited Programme was not determined by the court at the point of sentence, a programme record of ‘Not Specified by Court’ is created. In this instance, the Probation Practitioner will determine the suitable Accredited Programme type, with a further programme record created for the new details.
Consequently, and to avoid counting these programme records twice, table 1 includes the Accredited Programme as specified by the court.
In cases where both a specified programme and an unspecified programme were sentenced at court on the same community order, the specified programme has not been included in table 1, but has been included in table 2.
1.2. Accredited Programmes Sentenced at Court or After Probation Practitioner Determination for Unspecified Programmes
These data show the volume of accredited programmes on community orders sentenced at court or, for cases where the court did not determine a specific accredited programme, the programme determined by the Probation Practitioner. These data are broken down by programme type and the reporting period when the community order was sentenced.
Table 2: Accredited Programmes after Probation Practitioner determination of unspecified programmes between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Accredited Programme Type | Apr 2022 to Mar 2023 | Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 | Apr 2024 to Jun 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Better Relationships | 5290 | 5395 | 1353 | 12038 |
| Building Choices | 66 | 895 | 734 | 1695 |
| Horizon | 1613 | 1768 | 456 | 3837 |
| iHorizon | 487 | 403 | 74 | 964 |
| New Me Strengths | 168 | 155 | 28 | 351 |
| Thinking Skills | 3499 | 3628 | 811 | 7938 |
| Other | 28 | 14 | 1 | 43 |
| Not Specified | 124 | 133 | 43 | 300 |
| Total | 11275 | 12391 | 3500 | 27166 |
Recording Practice
There is a difference in totals between the two tables. This is because in 242 cases there were two further Accredited Programme records added by the Probation Practitioner to the sentence and in 9 cases there were three further Accredited Programme records added to the sentence to address the individual’s needs. Resulting in an additional 260 accredited programmes in this table.
1.3. Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Accredited Programmes
These data show the volume of Accredited Programmes added after sentencing by the Probation Practitioner rather than the court, as part of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) on a community sentence. These data are broken down by programme type and the reporting period when the order was sentenced.
Table 3: Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Accredited Programmes between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Accredited Programme Type | Apr 2022 to Mar 2023 | Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 | Apr 2024 to Jun 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Better Relationships | 90 | 150 | 13 | 253 |
| Building Choices | 1 | 37 | 23 | 61 |
| Horizon | 87 | 91 | 10 | 188 |
| iHorizon | 24 | 19 | 6 | 49 |
| Living As New Me | 7 | 1 | 8 | |
| New Me Strengths | 26 | 17 | 5 | 48 |
| Thinking Skills | 168 | 151 | 27 | 346 |
| Total | 403 | 466 | 84 | 953 |
Recording Practice
When the sentence includes a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, the Probation Practitioner will assess the individuals’ rehabilitative needs after sentencing and may deem that an Accredited Programme is suitable. These are reported separately here as the Accredited Programme was not specifically requested at court.
1.4. Definitions
Other Programme Type
Where the total volume of requirements for an Accredited Programme Type is under twenty, or in cases where the Accredited Programme has been discontinued during the reporting period, the results have been aggregated into a programme type of Other.
1.5. Points to Note
Reporting at Sentence Start
The reporting period for this section is based on the sentence date of the order, as a result these data cannot be directly compared with the following section.
2. Accredited Programme Starts
These data cover the total number of community sentences and licence conditions imposed on release from custody, with an accredited programme, between April 2022 and June 2024. This section presents information on the number of cases considered in scope and suitable to proceed; and of those cases in scope, how many programmes started.
The reporting point for these data is when the sentence ends, as a result these data cannot be directly compared with the previous section.
This section provides transparency on the volumes eligible for accredited programmes supervised by the Probation Service in the community. General Offending Behaviour Programmes data in this ad hoc align to the data for performance metric PS05 SL031 published in the Community Performance Statistics. Equivalent data for Accredited Programmes for People Convicted of Sexual Offences are published for the first time.
2.1. Accredited Programme Starts
These data cover the total number of accredited programmes requested between April 2022 and June 2024, the number of cases considered in scope and suitable to proceed, and of those cases in scope, how many started.
Table 4: Accredited Programme Starts between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Period | All Cases | Cases in Scope | Number Starting | Number Not Starting | % Starting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2022 - March 2023 | 15,030 | 9,768 | 6,384 | 3,384 | 65.4% |
| April 2023 - March 2024 | 15,242 | 10,221 | 8,036 | 2,185 | 78.6% |
| April 2024 - June 2024 | 3,845 | 2,611 | 2,205 | 406 | 84.5% |
| Total | 34,117 | 22,600 | 16,625 | 5,975 | 73.6% |
These data have been broken down by programme type below.
2.1.1. General Offending Behaviour Programmes
Offending behaviour programmes and interventions aim to change the thinking, attitudes and behaviours which may lead people to reoffend. Most programmes and interventions are delivered in groups; however one-to-one provision is available in some circumstances.
Table 5: General Offending Behaviour Programme Starts between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Period | All Cases | Cases in Scope | Number Starting | Number Not Starting | % Starting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2022 - March 2023 | 12,282 | 7,776 | 4,903 | 2,873 | 63.1% |
| April 2023 - March 2024 | 11,925 | 7,729 | 6,107 | 1,622 | 79.0% |
| April 2024 - June 2024 | 3,070 | 2,000 | 1,730 | 270 | 86.5% |
| Total | 27,277 | 17,505 | 12,740 | 4,765 | 72.8% |
2.1.2. Accredited Programmes for People Convicted of Sexual Offences
Accredited programmes for people convicted of sexual offences are grounded in principles of effective rehabilitative practice, known generally as Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR). Programmes are delivered at an intensity that is proportional to assessed risk, are focused on equipping skills in changeable areas associated with sexual reoffending and are responsive to the personal circumstances of individuals.
Table 6: Accredited Programmes for people convicted of sexual offences starting between April 2022 and June 2024, England and Wales (Source: National Delius).
| Period | All Cases | Cases in Scope | Number Starting | Number Not Starting | % Starting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2022 - March 2023 | 2,748 | 1,992 | 1,481 | 511 | 74.3% |
| April 2023 - March 2024 | 3,317 | 2,492 | 1,929 | 563 | 77.4% |
| April 2024 - June 2024 | 775 | 611 | 475 | 136 | 77.7% |
| Total | 6,840 | 5,095 | 3,885 | 1,210 | 76.3% |
2.2. Definitions
Period
The reporting period when the sentence ended.
All Cases
Regardless of when the sentence was imposed, the number of accredited programmes which are:
- Included in a sentence of Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order
- Delivered as part of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) attached to a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order
- A Condition of a Licence following release from custody
- Delivered during the Post Sentence Supervision Period (PSS)
Cases in Scope
Of all cases, the number excluding those terminating (before a first appointment) for one of the following exclusion reasons:
- Where the person died or is deported
- The person is transferred outside of jurisdiction
- Activation of a suspended sentence
- Expiry of the sentence due to breach or recall
- Imposition of a consecutive or concurrent custodial sentence
- Removal of the programme and/or sentence following appeal
- The person is recalled to custody for a further offence or non-compliance
- Revocation of the programme for a further offence, a failure to comply or is unworkable
- Variation of the licence condition
- The programme is withdrawn
- The original programme was changed or was not specified at sentence/release
- Recording errors
Number Starting
Of all cases, the number where the individual has attended at least the first session of the programme.
Number Not Starting
Of all cases, the number where the individual did not attend at least the first session of the programme before the sentence ended
Percentage Starting
The cases where the individual attended at least the first session of the programme as a proportion of the cases in scope.
2.3. Points to Note
Calculation Difference Compared to February 2025 Accredited Programme Commencements Ad Hoc
The Accredited Programme Commencements Ad Hoc published on 12th February 2025, considers a programme to be commenced where a commencement date has been added in National Delius (nDelius) showing the programme was expected to start. However, this data doesn’t consider whether the programme did start or not.
This Accredited Programme Starts Ad Hoc publication considers an accredited programme to have commenced at the point where the individual has attended the first programme session, and this can be evidenced on nDelius. If there is no evidence in the data of the person attending the programme, even if there is a commencement date present, the person is considered to have not started the programme. As a result, data in the Accredited Programme Commencements Ad Hoc are different to data in this publication.
Recording Practice
Where the original programme was changed or was not specified at sentence or release from custody, the recording process requires a second programme record to be added. This results in approximately 1% of General Offender Behaviour Programmes and approximately 11% of Accredited Programmes for People Convicted of Sexual Offences to be counted twice in the ‘All Cases’ data.
Reporting at Sentence End
To allow time for a programme to be arranged and started, these data are reported at sentence end. Individuals starting a programme during this period are not included if the sentence ended after the reporting period or is ongoing.
Exclusions
Due to the current reporting practice, programmes managed by the National Security Division are excluded from these data.
Data Sources and Quality
Data are drawn from administrative IT systems; namely National Delius (nDelius), the current probation case management system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the information collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system due to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures shown have been checked as far as practical.
Contact
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Tel: 0300 790 0711
Other enquiries about these data should be directed to:
HMPPS Performance Unit
Analysis Directorate
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
Email: communityperformanceenquiries@justice.gov.uk
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk