Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024
Published 25 July 2024
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-performance-annual-update-to-march-2024/community-performance-annual-update-to-march-2024
1. Main Points
This publication sets out statistics on Probation Performance from April 2023 to March 2024.
| 2 of 12 regions were rated ‘good’ | The Probation Scorecard, which gives an overall rating of the performance of the Probation Service both nationally and within regions, shows that only 2 of 12 regions are operating at a ‘good’ level, all other regions are rated as either ‘requiring improvement’ or ‘inadequate’. | |
| 9 of 26 probation service levels met target or were better for 2023 to 2024. This compares to 10 out of 26 for 2022 to 2023 | On a national level, performance of 9 of 26 probation service levels met target or were better for 2023 to 2024. Across the 2023 to 2024 year, targets have increased in comparison to targets in the 2022 to 2023 year. Of the 23 service levels measured in both 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023; 19 improved in performance[note 2]. | |
| Commissioned Rehabilitative Services performance has improved compared to the previous performance year | Of the 3 service levels measured within the Commissioned Rehabilitative Service, on a national level, 1 service level performed above target for the April 2022 to March 2023 performance year. Of the 2 service levels measured in both 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023; both service levels improved in performance[note 4]. |
2. Introduction
The Probation Performance Framework
The Probation Service is responsible for managing all those on a community sentence or licence following their release from prison in England and Wales. There are 11 probation regions across England and 1 for Wales.
The Probation Service Performance Framework supports delivery of the Target Operating Model by the probation service.
Some rehabilitative services such as personal wellbeing and accommodation are delivered under contract by Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and specialist organisations. The management of these Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts is also supported by a performance framework.
Previous publications can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prisons-and-probation-statistics##performance
Related statistics on reoffending are published by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/reoffending-statistics
Statistics on accommodation and employment previously included in this publication are now individual publications at:
accommodation: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/offender-accommodation-outcomes-update-to-march-2024
employment: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/offender-employment-outcomes-update-to-march-2024
3. Probation Scorecard
The Probation Scorecard was developed alongside the Probation Performance Framework. It pulls out the core measures (quality audits, and management information from data recorded by regions) to show a more complete picture of performance in the probation system.
The Probation Scorecard is owned by the Probation Performance Committee in HMPPS. This committee oversees governance of the probation system, and consists of HMPPS Senior Level Management, including the Directors General and the Chief Probation Officer. All measures, weightings and targets for the Probation Scorecard are agreed by the Probation Performance Committee and reviewed annually.
Performance ratings and overall scoring for the Probation Scorecard are derived from the measures included within the scorecard, which are weighted individually. For more information on the weightings, please refer to the technical notes. The Probation Scorecard Rating is assigned using the total score the region achieved as a percentage of the maximum possible score achievable. The table below shows the ratings and the thresholds for those ratings:
| Probation Scorecard Rating | Probation Scorecard Thresholds |
|---|---|
| 4 - Outstanding | Greater than or equal to 86.6% |
| 3 - Good | Less than 86.6% and greater than or equal to 73.3% |
| 2 - Improvement Required | Less than 73.3% and greater than or equal to 60.0% |
| 1 - Inadequate | Less than 60.0% |
The following table shows the overall rating for each region. For the performance year 2023 to 2024, no region received a score of 4 (Outstanding) however 2 of the 12 regions (Greater Manchester and Wales) did receive a score of 3 (Good).
Table 1: Probation Service Scorecard Ratings for all regions, for the performance year April 2023 to March 2024, England and Wales.
(Source: Probation Service Scorecard Ratings)
| Region | Overall Score |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 1 |
| East of England | 2 |
| Greater Manchester | 3 |
| Kent, Surrey & Sussex | 1 |
| London | 1 |
| North East | 2 |
| North West | 2 |
| South Central | 2 |
| South West | 2 |
| Wales | 3 |
| West Midlands | 2 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 2 |
| England and Wales | 2 |
4. Probation Service Delivery of Service Level Metrics
National delivery by the Probation Service against Service Levels has improved compared to the previous year. Of the 23 probation service levels that were measured in 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023, 19 improved, and 4 service levels declined in performance[note 2]. The largest increase was for SL027 which increased by 23.3pp. The largest decrease, SL011, decreased by 2.5pp.
In the year ending March 2024, 9 probation service levels met or exceeded the expected target and 17 did not meet target.
Table 2: Probation Service Performance of all available service levels for the year April 2023 to March 2024, England and Wales[note 1] [note 2] [note 3].
(Source: Probation Service Performance Data Tables; Table NAT)
| Performance Measure | Annual Performance April 2023 to March 2024 (%) | Annual Target April 2023 to March 2024 (%) | Percentage point change from previous performance year |
|---|---|---|---|
| SL001 - Judicial engagement | 71.2 | 70.0 | 5.4pp |
| SL004 - Initial appointment for community sentences | 92.6 | 95.0 | 5.3pp |
| SL005 - Initial appointment for releases from custody | 95.4 | 95.0 | 0.1pp |
| SL006 - Initial sentence plan for community sentences and releases | 84.2 | 95.0 | 2.0pp |
| SL007R - Monthly appointments offered | 84.4 | 95.0 | 4.9pp |
| SL010 - Timely risk management plans (recall reports part B) | 90.4 | 90.0 | -0.6pp |
| SL011 - Timely parole reports | 81.9 | 90.0 | -2.5pp |
| SL012R - Completion of targeted interventions for people convicted of sexual offences | 64.6 | 70.0 | [x] |
| SL013 - Requirements completed by sentence expiry | 78.7 | 85.0 | 2.9pp |
| SL014 - Housed on release from custody | 82.4 | 90.0 | 1.4pp |
| SL015a - Settled accommodation at 3 months post release | 70.8 | 80.0 | -0.8pp |
| SL015b - Settled accommodation at 3 months post community disposal | 84.0 | 80.0 | 2.4pp |
| SL016 - Employed at 6 weeks post release from custody | 17.5 | 19.0 | 2.3pp |
| SL017a - Employed at 6 months post release | 29.5 | 30.3 | 6.0pp |
| SL017b - Employed at 6 months post community disposal | 43.8 | 37.7 | 2.7pp |
| SL020 - Persons positive experience | 70.0 | 75.0 | -1.7pp |
| SL021 - Victim satisfaction | 86.2 | 80.0 | 1.5pp |
| SL022R - POM/COM handover meeting | 55.8 | 93.3 | [x] |
| SL023 - Pre-release sentence plans for enhanced cases | 27.5 | 53.2 | [x] |
| SL026 - Unpaid work assessment | 82.1 | 90.0 | 10.9pp |
| SL027 - Unpaid work starts within 15 business days of sentence | 65.9 | 80.0 | 23.3pp |
| SL028 - Unpaid work stand downs | 0.9 | 2.5 | -0.1pp |
| SL029 - Unpaid work completions within 12 months | 57.0 | 75.0 | 10.7pp |
| SL031 - Accredited programme starts [targeted] | 79.0 | 82.7 | 15.9pp |
| SL033 - Accredited programme completions [targeted] | 49.1 | 48.2 | 12.5pp |
| SL040R - Recording protected characteristics | 99.1 | 95.0 | 2.2pp |
[note 1] SL028 measures the percentage of Unpaid Work appointments which are cancelled on the same day as the appointment was arranged to take place. Therefore, a decrease in the proportion of Unpaid Work Stand Downs is a positive outcome and indicates an improvement in performance.
[note 2] Note that the baseline for SL007R only covers 9 months (July 2022 to March 2023)
[note 3] POM/COM Handover Meeting is the handover meeting between the Prison Offender Manager (POM), Community Offender Manager (COM)
5. Commissioned Rehabilitative Service Delivery of Service Level Metrics
Some rehabilitative services such as personal wellbeing and accommodation are delivered under contract by Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and specialist organisations at the local, or regional level. The management of these Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts is also supported by a performance framework.
Of the 3 CRS service levels measured within this publication, 2 were measured in the year April 2022 to March 2023 year, both of these improved in the year April 2023 to March 2024[note 4]. The largest increase was that of SL001R, which increased by 4.0pp in comparison to the previous year.
Table 3: Commissioned Rehabilitative Service Performance of all service levels for the year April 2023 to March 2024, England and Wales.
(Source: Commissioned Rehabilitative Services Performance Data Tables; Table NAT)
| Performance Measure | Annual Performance April 2023 to March 2024 (%) | Annual Target April 2023 to March 2024 (%) | Percentage point change from previous performance year |
|---|---|---|---|
| SL001R - Supplier assessment appointment (SAA) timeliness (revised) | 93.2 | 95.0 | 4.0pp |
| SL002 - Initial appointments attended | 92.2 | 90.0 | 0.7pp |
| SL005 - Initial appointments attended within 20 working days | 89.0 | 90.0 | [x] |
[note 4] Note that the baseline for SL001R only covers 9 months (July 2022 to March 2023)
6. Further Information
Accompanying files
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:
-
a set of data tables, covering each section of this bulletin
-
technical note
-
proposal for future releases
Explanatory notes
Data in this report are drawn from administrative IT systems; largely 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. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last whole number shown in the tables.
Performance figures rounded to one decimal place can be found in this document and the accompanying tables published alongside this document. Reported percentage point changes and performance figures are calculated on rounded figures. Where figures in the tables have been rounded the rounded components do not always add to the totals, which are calculated and rounded independently.
Symbols and conventions
The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin:
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| [x] | Not applicable or Not available |
| 0 | Nil or less than half the final digit shown |
| [z] | Unreliable (less than 30 observations) |
| [p] | Provisional data |
| [r] | Revised data |
Future publications
Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.
Contact
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Tel: 020 3334 3536
Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to Data and Analysis at the Ministry of Justice: communityperformanceenquiries@justice.gov.uk
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be e-mailed to: Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from http://www.statistics.gov.uk
Next update: 31 July 2025
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics
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Produced by the Ministry of Justice
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