Official Statistics

HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2022-23

Updated 27 March 2024

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2024

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Statistician’s comment

As in previous years, the prison population has remained as majority male, white, in their 30s, heterosexual and following the Christian faith. There was a 17% increase in the transgender prison population this year, with 268 transgender prisoners recorded in March 2023. Similar to last year’s figures, most transgender prisoners were legally male, white and held in the men’s prison estate.

There was a drop in mother and baby unit applications this year compared to last year. However, keeping to the trend of previous years, more than half of applications were approved. This report shows new data on the protected characteristics of pregnant prisoners (found in Chapter 3).

On the topic of incentives for prisoners this year, those self-declaring as Muslim had the lowest proportion on Enhanced Incentives status. For accredited programmes this year, starts and completions have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. We have also published accredited programmes by sexual orientation for the first time this year where 96% of prisoners on a programme self-reported as heterosexual.

Further prison and probation equalities data is routinely published in four other statistical releases: the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, the Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin, Deaths of Offenders in the Community and Proven Reoffending Statistics. Each source includes written commentary and data tables relating to various protected characteristics. Details of what is covered can be found in Chapter 6 at the end of this report.

Introduction

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice; with the goal of helping prison and probation services work together to manage offenders through their sentences. HMPPS replaced the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) on 1 April 2017.

The HMPPS Offender Equalities 2022/23 report contains the latest information on progress and achievements pertaining to equalities objectives, as stated in the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics: * Age * Disability * Gender reassignment * Marriage and Civil partnership * Pregnancy and maternity * Race * Religion or Belief * Sex * Sexual orientation

This report focuses on those protected characteristics where data are collected and are of sufficient quality for statistics to be meaningful. In general, this report is limited to analysis on sex, age, race (ethnicity), religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment and sexual orientation for these reasons. Where data are available for other protected characteristics at sufficient quality and with sufficient coverage to be meaningful, they are also presented and considered.

The report presents some analysis by individual characteristic and is meant to serve as a guide for further research. In many cases, more than one factor (e.g. age and another protected characteristic, criminal history, socio-economic) might have an effect on an outcome.

Data presented in this report have been drawn from administrative IT systems and data collections. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.

This publication no longer includes information on breach rates for offenders on Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders, due to inconsistencies in data recording.

1. Prison Population
Males comprised 96% of the prison population Proportionally males make up 96% of the total prison population and females 4%. Since pre-COVID (2019) the female prison population has decreased by 13% (from 3,832 to 3,315 prisoners) and the male population has increased by 3% (78,802 to 81,057 prisoners).
White [footnote 1] prisoners made up 66% of the remanded prison population and 74% of the sentenced prison population On 31 March 2023, prisoners who self-declared as being from a black or black British ethnic background made up 14% of the remand prison population and 12% of the sentenced population. Prisoners who declared their ethnicity as Asian or Asian British, represented 10% of remand and 8% of sentenced prisoners.
The majority (33%) of prisoners were in the 30 to 39 age group As at 31 March 2023, the second largest group were in the 40 to 49 age group which covered 20% (16,778) of the prison population. Since pre-COVID (2019) there has been a decrease in the younger age groups, with a 46% decrease in the 15-17 age group. Over the same period there has been increases in the older age groups, such as a 15% increase in the 40-49 group.
Almost half (45%) of the prison population that specified a religion or belief self-identified as being Christian in March 2023 As of 31 March 2023, 31% (26,328) prisoners identified as having no religion and 18% (14,991) identified as a Muslim.
In the latest quarter, 97% of prisoners who declared a sexual orientation reported that they were heterosexual This is broadly comparable with trends reported over the past ten years.

Data for prisoner protected characteristics summarised here relating to sex, age, ethnicity and religion or belief are published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ). OMSQ is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022. This chapter therefore adds only a breakdown of data on sexual orientation of the prison population in England and Wales which has not been published elsewhere.

97% of prisoners who recorded a sexual orientation declared that they were heterosexual (Tables 1.2 and 1.3)

Of prisoners who declared their sexual orientation[footnote 2][footnote 3], 97% (68,549) identified as heterosexual. gay/lesbian and bisexual offenders accounted for 1.3% (928) and 1.4% (1022), of the total prison population respectively. Those who identified as “Other”[footnote 4] comprised 0.2% (143) of the total population. These proportions were calculated excluding individuals whose sexual orientation is stated as “Refusal/Not Disclosed” or “Not Known”.

Figure 1.1: Prison Population by Protected Characteristic, England and Wales, 2022/2023 (Source: OMSQ/HMPPS Performance Hub, Tables 1.1 and 1.2)

2. Transgender Prisoners
There were 268 transgender prisoners in the 2023 data collection This was increase on the figure of 230 recorded in 2022.
Most reported their legal gender as male 225 prisoners reported their legal gender as male, 43 as female.
There were 25 transgender prisoners from an ethnic minority background Where ethnicity was known, 10% of the transgender prison population were from an Ethnic Minority background, which is at the same level as the population in 2022.
There were 13 prisoners known to have a Gender Recognition Certificate This is up from 11 on 31st March 2022.
Most transgender prisoners were in the men’s estates 220 transgender prisoners were in the male estate and 48 were in the female estate.

For the purposes of this report, transgender prisoners are defined as those individuals known within prison to be currently living in, or presenting in, a gender different to their legal gender [footnote 5] and who have had a local case board (as defined by ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ policy framework [footnote 6]) and are known to the diversity and inclusion lead within the individual prison where they are housed.

Prisoners who have a full Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) are excluded from any analysis within this report. Only an overall count is provided to ensure compliance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 [footnote 7]. Statistics on the number of applications to the Gender Recognition Panel are published in Tribunals Statistics Quarterly at <www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics>.

The figures reported in this bulletin give an estimate of the number of transgender prisoners and are likely to underestimate the true number. This is because some transgender prisoners, both with and without GRCs, may not have declared that they are transgender or had a local case board. Additionally, the prison population is dynamic, meaning prisoners may have entered or left prison outside the time period of the data collection.

Details of the number of transgender prisoners were provided by Equalities Representatives in public and private prisons in England and Wales, on 31st March 2023. This predates the implementation of changes introduced in the ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ policy framework [footnote 8] in February 2023.

Legal Gender and Gender Identity

There were 268 prisoners living in, or presenting in, a gender different from their legal gender and who have had a local case board. Of these, 225 reported their legal gender as male, 43 reported their legal gender as female.

When asked about the gender with which the prisoner identified from the following categories, 203 identified as transgender female [footnote 9], 41 as transgender male [footnote 10], 14 as non-binary [footnote 11] and 10 self-identified in a different way or did not provide a response.

There were 13 prisoners known to have a Gender Recognition Certificate as of 31st March 2023. These prisoners are not included in the transgender prisoner totals presented in this report.

Prison Establishments and Gender Identity

80 of the 123 public and private prisons (65%) in England and Wales said that they had one or more transgender prisoners.

Of the 268 transgender prisoners: * 48 were in female prisons, 5 self-identified as transgender female, 41 self-identified as transgender male. The remaining 2 self-identified as non-binary, in a different way, or did not provide a response. * 220 were in male prisons, 198 self-identified as transgender female, 0 self-identified as transgender male. The remaining 22 self-identified as non-binary, in a different way, or did not provide a response.

Age and Ethnicity

25 of the 268 transgender prisoners reported they were from an ethnic minority (excluding white ethnic) background and 230 were from a white (including white ethnic) background. There were 13 transgender prisoners who chose not to disclose their ethnicity. The proportion of transgender prisoners from ethnic minority backgrounds (excluding white minority ethnic) was 10% in 2023, the same level as for 31st March 2022.

Most self-declared transgender prisoners were aged 20 – 29 and 30 – 39, with 70 and 81 prisoners respectively in each group in the 2023 data collection. 31% of the transgender prison population where aged was reported, were aged between 30 – 39 years on 31st March 2023, an increase compared with 24% on the same date in 2022. The distribution across age ranges was broadly similar compared with last year, although there was a fall in the percentage of prisoners in the 40 – 49 years age category, from 23% in 2022 to 20% in 2023.

Based on this exercise, there were 3.2 transgender prisoners reported per 1,000 prisoners in custody on 31st March 2023, an increase from 2.9 per 1,000 on 31st March 2022. The transgender prison population increased by 17% compared with 6% for the prison population over the same period.

Figure 2.1: Number of Transgender Prisoners by protected characteristic, 31st March 2023 (Source: Table 2.1)

3. Mother and Baby Units and Pregnant Prisoners
There was a slight drop in applications to MBUs in the 12-months to March 2023 80 applications were received for admission into an MBU for 2022/2023, last year there were 85 applications, a 6% decrease.
The majority of MBU applications were approved Of the 55 applications approved or refused by a board, 40 of them were approved (73%) and 15 were refused (27%).
There were more white pregnant prisoners than women from an ethnic minority In the 12-months to March 2023, 30 white pregnant prisoners had their applications approved (in total there were 57 applications from this group). 9 of the applications were from women with an ethnic minority background were approved (20 in total).
There were slightly more pregnant prisoners aged 30 or younger 21 of applications were approved from pregnant prisoners in the 30 or younger age group (out of 41 total applications). From those women aged over 30, 18 of their applications were approved, out of 36 total applications.
Most applications came from pregnant prisoners with a Christian faith During the latest year, women who self-identified as having the Christian faith made 39 applications to MBUs, 19 of which were approved. 27 came from those with no religion and 10 came from those with another faith.
The majority of pregnant prisoners are over 30 and white Pregnant prisoners tended to be aged over 30 (57% of pregnant prisoners) and from a white ethnic group (81% of pregnant prisoners).

A Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is a designated separate accommodation unit within a women’s prison which enables mothers, where appropriate, to have their children with them. Women who are pregnant or who have children under the age of 18 months can apply for a place in an MBU [footnote 12]. General statistics on women in MBUs can be found in the HMPPS Annual Digest 2022/23 [footnote 13]. This report provides details of the protected characteristics of women making applications to MBUs and the outcome of the application.

There are currently 6 MBUs in operation across the women’s prison estate in England and Wales which provide an overall total capacity of 64 places for mothers. However, there are a total of 70 places for babies to allow for twins and multiple births. It should be noted that: * Multiple applications can be submitted by one woman [footnote 14]. * Recommendations on applications (e.g. an approval or refusal) may not be made in the same reporting year as the application was received. * Not all applications will receive a recommendation, as the application may not proceed for a number of reasons (e.g. a woman may withdraw her application or leave custody). * An approval to an MBU does not mean that a mother and baby/babies will be received into an MBU, as alternative arrangements could be made for care after the application is submitted. * An application may be refused for several reasons, for example due to an interim Care Order by Children’s Services. All recommendations are based on evidence of what is in the best interests of the baby/babies in each case, in consultation with the relevant professionals and partner agencies. * Every effort is made to ensure admissions processes are administered in a timely fashion to ensure any anxiety is reduced for applicants, however unavoidable delays might arise in some cases. For example, where an assessment is being carried out by Children’s Services.

Applications to Mother and Baby Units

In the 12-months ending March 2023, 80 applications were received for admission into an MBU; 6% fewer applications than in the previous year when 85 applications were received. Of the 55 applications which resulted in a recommendation from an Admissions Board, 40 (73%) were approved.

Figure 3.1 shows the number of MBU applications and mothers in MBUs at the end of each year from 2011 to 2023. The female prison population has decreased in the same time period with 4,218 in March 2012 to 3,315 women in March 2023 [footnote 15].

Figure 3.1: Number of applications received to an MBU, England and Wales, for the years 2011 to 2023 (Source: Table 3.1)

Applications and approvals for Mother and Baby Units and age group

In the 12-months ending March 2023, most applications came from women aged 30 and under (41 of the 80 applications, or about 51%). 28 of these applications received a recommendation from the Admissions Board and, of those that received a recommendation, 21 were approved.

There were 36 applications from women aged over 30 years and 25 of these received a recommendation from the Admissions Board and 18 were approved.

Figure 3.2: Number of applications approved and refused to an MBU, by age group, England and Wales, the 12-months ending March 2023 (Source: Table 3.2)

Applications and approvals for Mother and Baby Units and ethnicity

In the year to March 2023, of the 80 applications made to Admissions Boards, 57 were from women with a white ethnic background and 20 were from women with a minority ethnic background [footnote 16].

30 of the applications from women of a white ethnic background were approved by the Board. 9 of the applications from women of an ethnic minority background were approved.

Figure 3.3: Number of applications approved and refused to an MBU, by ethnicity, England and Wales, the 12-months ending March 2023 (Source: Table 3.2)

Applications and approvals for Mother and Baby Units and religion

In the 12-months ending March 2023, the highest number of applications made were from those self-identifying as having Christian faith or no religion, accounting for 39 and 27 applications respectively.

Out of the applications which received a recommendation from the board, 16 were approved for women who self-identified as having no religion. Among women who self-identified as having a Christian faith, 19 applications were accepted.

Figure 3.4: Number of applications approved and refused to an MBU, by religion, England and Wales, the 12-months ending March 2023 (Source: Table 3.2)

Pregnant prisoners

A larger proportion of pregnant prisoners were aged over 30 (57%) compared to the 30 or younger group (43%) in the year ending March 2023. The vast majority of pregnant prisoners were white (82%). 82% of the wider female prison population were white [footnote 17]. 18% were from an ethnic minority group (17% of the female prison population are from an ethnic minority) and the remaining not recorded.

Figure 3.5: Number of prisoners by protected characteristics, England and Wales, in the 12-months ending March 2023 (Source: Table 3.3)

4. Incentives
Prisoners from black or black British, mixed, and “other” ethnic groups were more likely to be on a Standard Incentives status On 31 March 2023, 55%, 49% and 47% respectively of prisoners from “other” ethnic groups, mixed ethnicity and black or black British ethnicity were on a Standard Incentives status. This compares with 44% for prisoners who identified as Asian and Asian British and 45% for white ethnicity prisoners.
The proportion of prisoners on a Standard Incentives status decreases with age 67% of prisoners aged between 18-20 were on Standard Incentives status compared with 30% for prisoners aged 60 and over.
A higher proportion of male than female prisoners were on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status 45% of female prisoners compared with 50% of male prisoners were on an Enhanced (initial) Incentives status.
Prisoners self-declaring as Muslim had the lowest proportion of prisoners on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status, at 46% Buddhist prisoners and those with “any other” religion, were the most likely to be on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status, 66% and 61% respectively.
The proportion of heterosexual prisoners on Enhanced (initial) Incentives was lower than for gay/lesbian or bisexual prisoners 50% of heterosexual prisoners compared with 61% of gay/lesbian and 60% of bisexual prisoners were on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status.

An incentives scheme (formerly known as Incentives and Earned Privileges - IEP) was introduced in 1995 with the expectation that prisoners would earn additional privileges through demonstrating responsible behaviour and participation in work or other constructive activity. It allowed prisoners to earn privileges through good behaviour and engagement in the regime and rehabilitation. Privileges could also be lost through poor behaviour. The IEP scheme operated on four levels: Basic, Entry, Standard and Enhanced (initial), until August 2019 when Entry level was abolished. It was replaced by the Incentives Policy Framework in January 2020. The new policy has a greater focus on incentivising positive behaviour, providing consistency in key areas, whilst giving governors greater flexibility to tailor incentives to the local needs and challenges in their prison. This year saw the introduction of Enhanced (extended), which is a level above Enhanced (initial).

Prisoners typically start on Standard level, and positive behaviour can be rewarded with progression to Enhanced (extended), while poor behaviour can result in prisoners being placed on Basic – with the associated increase or reduction in privileges. Basic level provides access to the safe, legal and decent requirements of a normally running regime.

General incentives trends (Source: Table 4.1)

On 31 March 2023: * 46% of the prisoner population had Standard incentives status and 50% had Enhanced (initial) status, 4% had Basic status and less than 1% had Enhanced (extended) status. * The proportion of prisoners with Enhanced (initial) status has been rising since March 2016, when 36% of prisoners had Enhanced (initial) status. * This year saw the introduction of Enhanced (extended) status. Less than 1% (0.4) of the population had this status.

Prisoners with Standard incentives status (Table 4.1, Figure 4.1)

On 31 March 2023: * Female prisoners were more likely to have a Standard Incentives status (52%) compared to male prisoners (46%). * Prisoners in the 18-20 age group had the largest percentage of individuals on Standard Incentives status (67%), compared to those in the 60 and over age group who had the lowest percentage of individuals on a standard incentive’s status (30%). * Other ethnicity, mixed ethnicity and black or black British ethnicity prisoners had the highest proportions of prisoners on Standard Incentives status, at 55%, 49% and 47% respectively. This was higher than for Asian and Asian British and white prisoners (44% and 45% respectively) at the same point in time. * Prisoners with a Muslim religion and those with no religious group had the highest proportions of individuals with a Standard Incentives status at 48% each. * Heterosexual prisoners had the highest proportion of Standard Incentives status at 45%

Figure 4.1: Percentage of prisoners with Standard incentives status split by protected characteristic, 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 4.1)

Prisoners with Enhanced (initial) incentives status (Table 4.1, Figure 4.2)

On 31 March 2023:

  • There was a higher proportion of male prisoners (50%) with Enhanced (initial) incentives status than female (45%).
  • With the exception of those aged between 15-17 years old, where 44% are on enhanced (initial) status, the proportion of prisoners with an Enhanced (initial) Incentives status increased with age for those aged 18 and over, with 22% of prisoners aged 18-20 and 69% of those aged 60 and over having an Enhanced (initial) incentives status.
  • Asian or Asian British and white ethnic group prisoners had the highest proportion of individuals on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status; 52% and 51% respectively. The proportion of prisoners with an Enhanced (initial) Incentives status was lowest in the other ethnic group at 39%. Black or black British and mixed ethnic groups had 45% each.
  • Prisoners who self-declared as having either other religious belief or Buddhist faith had the highest proportion of prisoners on Enhanced (initial) Incentives status at 61% and 66% respectively. Prisoners who declared their religious belief as Muslim had the lowest proportion of individuals with an Enhanced (initial) Incentives status at 46%.
  • The proportion of prisoners with an Enhanced (initial) Incentives status was highest among those whose sexual orientation was reported as gay/lesbian (61%) and other (54%), for individuals who self-declared as bisexual it was 60%. The proportion was lowest for heterosexual prisoners (50%).

Figure 4.2: Percentage of prisoners with Enhanced (initial) incentives status split by protected characteristic, 31 March 2023 (Source Table 4.1)

5. Accredited Programmes for Offenders in Custody
Of offenders starting an accredited programme, 97% were male and 3% were female In the 12-months ending March 2023, there were 4,820 [footnote 18] accredited programme starts. Male offenders started 4,573 accredited programmes. The number of starts for female offenders was 146, making up 3% of the total number of starts. The proportion of the overall prison population who were female was 4% on 31st March 2023.
Of all accredited programme starts, 36% (1,709) of offenders were aged between 30 to 39 years 62% (1,063) of starts across this age group were for general offending programmes.
Of all accredited programme starts, 75% were offenders from a white ethnic background (including white ethnic minorities) Offenders in custody from an ethnic minority (excluding white ethnic minorities) background comprised 25% (1,184) of programme starts.
There were 4,135 [footnote 19] accredited programme completions [footnote 20] in the financial year ending March 2023 Male offenders made up 97% (3,947) of the total number of completions and females in custody comprised 3% (114) of all completions.
Of all accredited programme completions, 46% were individuals identifying as having a Christian religion Offenders with a Christian faith comprised 46% each of all individuals who completed a general offending, sexual offending or violence programme. 32% of starts were for offenders who had no religion or belief.
Of all offenders completing accredited programmes in custody, 86% of individuals were single, not married and not in a civil partnership 7% were married or in a civil partnership, whilst 4% identified as cohabiting.
96% (3,554) of offenders completing a programme self-reported their sexual orientation as heterosexual 2% (83) identified as bisexual.

Accreditation is a system for ensuring that treatment programmes offered to offenders, which aim to reduce reoffending, have a proper theoretical basis and are designed in accordance with the ‘What Works’ literature.

HMPPS commissions a range of accredited programmes [footnote 21]; varying in length, complexity and mode of delivery. Programmes have been developed to target the particular risks and needs for different types of offending behaviour. To achieve accreditation, programmes must be assessed to make sure they are targeting the right people, focusing on the right things, and being delivered in a way that is most likely to reduce reoffending. All HMPPS-commissioned accredited programmes are subject to quality assurance processes to ensure programme integrity is maintained and developed.

Offenders who started [footnote 22] an Accredited Programme [footnote 23] (Tables 5.1 to 5.8)

In the 12-months ending March 2023:

  • There were 4,820 accredited programme starts. 62% (2,978) of these were general offending programmes and 21% were sexual offending-related programmes. Violence programmes made up 10% (469) of all starts and programmes for domestic violence comprised 6% (266) of all programme starts. 2% (96) of starts were for substance misuse programmes, while extremism programmes were less than 1% (11) of all starts. The number of starts rose this year compared with the year ending March 2022, when there were 2,297 starts; an increase of 110%. Volumes for starts have largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

  • Male offenders made up 97% (4,573) of all accredited programme starts, while females in custody made up 3% (146) of all starts.

  • 36% (1,709) of offenders starting accredited programmes were aged between 30 to 39 years and 17% (793) of starts were for offenders aged under 25. Offenders aged 60 and over comprised 3% (120) of all starts.

  • Offenders in custody from an ethnic minority (excluding white ethnic minorities) background comprised 25% (1,184) of programme starts and the remaining 75% (3,510) were offenders from a white ethnic (including white ethnic minorities) background.

  • 46% (2,147) of offenders who started accredited programmes in custody were Christian. One-third (33%, 1,538) of offenders who started a programme reported no religion or belief. Prisoners with a Muslim faith comprised 16% (765) of all starts.

  • 87% (3,868) of all offenders starting an accredited programme were single, not married and not in a civil partnership, and 11% (472) were married or in a civil partnership or cohabiting.

  • 97% (4,142) of offenders self-reported their sexual orientation as heterosexual. 2% (80) and 1% (62) identified as bisexual and gay/lesbian respectively.

Offenders who completed an Accredited Programme (Tables 5.9 to 5.16, Figure 5.1)

In the 12-months ending March 2023:

  • There were 4,135 programme completions, an increase of 124% compared with 1,848 completions recorded in the previous financial year. General offending programmes accounted for 61% (2,503) of all accredited programmes completed in custody, while 22% (916) were sexual offending programmes and 10% (400) violence programme completions. Domestic violence programme completions (200) accounted for 5% of all completions. Substance misuse (92) and extremism (24) programmes made up 2% and 1% respectively of all completions.

  • Of all completions, male offenders comprised 97% (3,947) and females made up 3% (114).

  • 36% (1,460) of completed accredited programmes were by offenders aged 30-39. Offenders in custody aged 18-20 (133) and aged 60 and over (115) each comprised accounted for 3% of the total number of completed accredited programmes.

  • While prisoners with a white ethnic (including white ethnic minorities) background accounted for 75% (3,012) of programme completions [footnote 24]. Offenders from an ethnic minority (excluding white ethnic minorities) background accounted for 25% (1,029) of programme completions.

  • Offenders in custody with a Christian religion comprised 46% (1,854) of all accredited programme completions, while those with no religion made up 32% (1,309). Offenders of Muslim faith accounted for 16% (644) of accredited programme completions.

  • 86% (3,296) of accredited programme completions were by individuals who were single, not married and not in a civil partnership. 7% (278) were married or in a civil partnership, whilst 4% (151) were by prisoners who self-identified as cohabiting.

  • 96% (3,554) of offenders self-reported their sexual orientation as heterosexual. 2% (83) identified as bisexual.

Figure 5.1: Completions for accredited programmes in custody by protected characteristic, 12-months ending March 2023 (Source: Tables 5.9 to 5.16)

Much of the equalities data which formed part of previously published editions of this report can be found in four published information sources; namely the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, the Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin, Deaths of Offenders in the Community and Proven Reoffending Statistics. Each source includes written commentary and data tables relating to various protected characteristics.

Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ)

The Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin, October to December 2023 was released on 27 April 2023 [footnote 25]. For all editions of this bulletin, link to: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly

Prison population

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Prison population
(data at 31 March)		 Number of prisoners in
establishments across
England and Wales		 Age and sex: male and female offenders by age
group from 15 years of age. Use the totals, which are
the sum of remand, sentenced and non-criminal
prisoner populations (table 1.3)
Ethnicity and sex: male and female offenders by
5+1 ethnic group breakdowns and sentence type
(table 1.4)
Religion and sex: male and female offenders by
religion or belief (table 1.5)
  Proportion of prison population
who are sentenced		 Age and sex: male and female offenders by age
group from 15 years of age. Use the figures for the
sentenced population only (exclude remand and non-
criminal prisoner populations) to calculate proportions,
excluding values for not known or not recorded. For
example, to calculate the sentenced only population
for male and female prisoners aged between 15 to 17
years (the numerator), the denominator would be the
figure for male and female prisoners aged between 15
to 17 for the whole prison population (including
remand, sentenced and non-criminal prisoners)
(table 1.3)

Adjudications

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Adjudications (calendar year data 2023) Adjudication outcomes: Proven Dismissed Not proceeded with Others Sex: males and females (table A5.1) Age: age group from 15 years of age (table A5.1) Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A5.1) Religion: religion or belief categories (table A5.1)
  Total number of offences  
  Proportion of proven adjudications  
  Proportion of dismissed adjudications  
  Adjudication rates per 100 prisoners: Proven Dismissed Not proceeded with Others Sex: males and females (table A5.1) Age: age group from 15 years of age (table A5.1) Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A5.1) To calculate rates per 100 prisoners, use volumes from table 6.1 as the numerator and total prison population as the denominator. For example, to calculate proven adjudications for male prisoners (the numerator) per 100 of the male prison population, use the total prison population for males only as the denominator. That is: 100*(male proven adjudications/total male prison population)
  Proven adjudications by type of offence Age and sex: males and females by age group from 15 years of age (Adjudications .csv dataset) Ethnicity and sex: males and females by 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (Adjudications .csv dataset) Religion and sex: males and females by religion or belief categories (Adjudications .csv dataset) Bespoke pivot tables will need to be generated to obtain this data. Ensure the outcome variable is set to “Proved” in the filters field. Select the “Offence” variable to the columns field, protected characteristics variables to the rows field and the “Count” variable to the values field of the pivot table.
  Proven adjudication rates per 100 prisoners: Disobedience/disrespect Escape/abscond Unauthorised transactions Violence Wilful damage Other offences Age and sex: males and females by age group from 15 years of age (Adjudications .csv dataset) Ethnicity and sex: males and females by 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (Adjudications .csv dataset) Religion and sex: males and females by religion or belief categories (Adjudications .csv dataset) Generate bespoke datasets using pivot tables from the .csv files, filtering using the instructions outlined directly above in proven adjudications by type of offence. To calculate the proven adjudication rates per 100 prisoners, follow and tailor the calculation method outlined above to fit the data. For example, for male prisoners aged between 15 and 17 years for disobedience/disrespect offence (the numerator), use the total number of male prisoners (the denominator) to generate this calculation: 100*(males aged 15 to 17 proven adjudications for disobedience and disrespect offence/total male prison population)
  Punishment outcomes by offence: Additional days added Caution Cellular confinement Exclusion from associated work Extra work Forfeiture of privileges Removal from activity/living unit Stoppage of earnings Other Sex: males and females (table A5.2) Age: age group from 15 years of age (table A5.2) Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A5.2) Religion: religion or belief categories (table A5.2)
  Average number of punishments per offence Sex: males and females (table A5.2) Age: age group from 15 years of age (table A5.2) Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A5.2) Religion: religion or belief categories (table A5.2) The average number of punishments is calculated from the total number of punishments divided by the total number of offences.
  Punishment outcome rates per 100 prisoners: Additional days added Caution Cellular confinement Exclusion from associated work Extra work Forfeiture of privileges Removal from activity/living unit Stoppage of earnings Other Sex: males and females (table A5.2) Age: age group from 15 years of age (table A5.2) Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A5.2) Religion: religion or belief categories (table A5.2) To calculate rates, follow the calculation method as set out for proven adjudication rates per 100 prisoners; tailored to fit the data for punishment outcomes.

Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders
(calendar year
data for COs
and SSOs;
data at 31
December for
previous
cautions and
convictions
data) 		Offenders supervised by the
Probation Service, at end of
period, under Community
Orders (COs)		 Age and sex: males and females by age group from
18 years of age (table A4.16)
Ethnicity and sex: males and females by ethnic
group breakdowns (table A4.17)
  Offenders supervised by the
Probation Service, at end of
period, under Suspended
Sentence Orders (SSOs)		 Age and sex: males and females by age group from
18 years of age (table A4.16)
Ethnicity and sex: males and females by ethnic
group breakdowns (table A4.17)
  Offenders under supervision by
the Probation Service, at end of
period by number of previous
cautions or convictions
(number groupings for previous
cautions or convictions are: 0,
1-2, 3-6, 7-10, 11-14, 15 or
more) 		Age and sex: males and females by age group from
15 years of age (categories are 15-17, young adults
18-20, adults) (usually table A4.21 - contact
statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk for more
information)

Release on Temporary Licence

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Release on Temporary Licence (calendar year Prison Releases data) Incidences of release on temporary licence Ethnicity and sex: male and female by 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A3.8)
  Individuals released on temporary licence Ethnicity and sex: male and female by 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A3.8)
  Incidences of release on temporary licence: Special Purpose Licence Resettlement Day Release Resettlement Overnight Release Childcare Resettlement Release Sex: males and females (table A3.7)
  Individuals released on temporary licence: Determinate sentences Indeterminate sentences Recall Other sentence type Sex: males and females (table A3.7)

Temporary Release Failures

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Temporary Release Failures (calendar year Prison releases data) Number of recorded Temporary Release Failures: Determinate sentences Indeterminate sentences Sex: males and females (table A3.7)
  Failures per 100,000 incidences of release Sex: males and females (table A3.7)
  Number of recorded Temporary Release Failures Ethnicity and sex: male and female by 5+1 ethnic group breakdowns (table A3.8)

Home Detention Curfew (HDC)

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Home Detention Curfew (HDC) (calendar year Prison Releases data) Number eligible for release on HDC by sentence length: Less than or equal to 6 months Greater than 6 months to less than 12 months 12 months to less than 2 years 2 years to less than 4 years Sex: males and females (table A3.5)
  Number released on HDC by sentence length: Less than or equal to 6 months Greater than 6 months to less than 12 months 12 months to less than 2 years 2 years to less than 4 years  
  Population on HDC at end of period (31st December)  
  Number of HDC recalls by sentence length: Less than or equal to 6 months Greater than 6 months to less than 12 months 12 months to less than 2 years 2 years to less than 4 years Sex: males and females (table A3.6i)
  Number of HDC recalls by reason for recall: Breach of curfew conditions Inability to monitor Breach of non-curfew conditions  

Safety in Custody Statistics bulletin

Safety in Custody quarterly bulletin, June 2023 was released on 26 October 2023. The bulletin contains calendar year annual tables for self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales. For all editions of this bulletin, link to: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Deaths in prison Number of deaths
Deaths per 1,000 prisoners
Number of self-inflicted deaths
Self-inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners
Number of natural cause deaths
Natural cause deaths per 1,000 prisoners
Number of homicides		 Sex: males and females (table 1.1)
Age: age group from 15 years of age (deaths data tool)
Ethnicity: 5 ethnic group breakdowns (deaths data tool)

Bespoke datasets can also be generated using the pivot table in the deaths data tool.
Self-harm Number of self-harm incidents Age and sex: male and female establishments by age group from 15 years of age (table 2.3)
Ethnicity and sex: male and female establishments including 5+1 ethnicity breakdowns (table 2.7)
  Self-harm incidents per 1,000 prisoners
Self-harm individuals per 1,000 prisoners
Self-harm incidents per individual		 Sex: male establishment and female establishment breakdowns (table 2.1)
  Number of self-harm individuals Age and sex: male and female establishment by age group from 15 years of age (table 2.4)
Assaults Number of assailants
Number of fighters
Number of victims		 Sex: male and female establishment breakdowns (table 3.2)
Age: age groups from 15 year of age (table 3.3)
Ethnicity: 5+1 ethnicity breakdowns (table 3.6)

Other sources of equalities information

In addition to data published in this report, HMPPS and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publish equalities information in other sources:

Deaths of Offenders in the Community

The latest available edition of the Deaths of Offenders in the Community Bulletin, annual update to March 2023, covering deaths of offenders supervised in the community by the probation service in England and Wales was published on 26 October 2023 and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/death-of-offenders-in-the-community

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Deaths of offenders in the community Deaths of offenders in the community Age and sex: sex by age band, from 15 years of age and NPS/CRC breakdown
Ethnicity and sex: sex by ethnic group (5+1, including total ethnic minorities) and NPS/CRC breakdown

These data are available in a data tool released alongside this publication.

Proven Reoffending Statistics bulletin

The proven reoffending statistics bulletin was released on 26 October 2023. This publication will include statistics related to the cohort periods October to December 2021. For this, and previous editions of this bulletin, refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics

Topic Metric Protected Characteristic breakdowns available
Proven reoffending Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)
Average number of reoffences per reoffender
Number of reoffences
Number of reoffenders
Number of offenders in cohort		 Age and sex: adult and juvenile offenders by sex (table A2)
Age: from 10 years of age, categorised into age groups (table A3)
Ethnicity: adult proven reoffending data (table A7a), juvenile proven reoffending data (table A7b)

These data are available in a data tool released alongside this publication.

Other sources of equalities information

In addition to data published in this report, HMPPS and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publish equalities information in other sources:

  ## Further information

Official Statistics

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Ministry of Justice publishes data relating to offender management in England and Wales. Equivalent statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found at: Statistics and research - https://www.gov.scot/statistics-and-research/ Northern Ireland Justice Statistics: https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/crimeandjustice/

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:

Kate Kandasamy, Responsible Statistician

Data and Analysis, Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London,
SW1H 9AJ

E-mail: sueper_stats@justice.gov.uk

Next update: November 2024 URL: <www.gov.uk/government/collections/prisons-and-probation-statistics>

© Crown copyright

Produced by the Ministry of Justice.

Alternative formats are available on request from sueper_stats@justice.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Kate Kandasamy, Responsible Statistician

Data and Analysis, Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London,
SW1H 9AJ

E-mail: sueper_stats@justice.gov.uk

Next update: September 2024 URL: <www.gov.uk/government/collections/prisons-and-probation-statistics>

© Crown copyright

Produced by the Ministry of Justice.

Alternative formats are available on request from sueper_stats@justice.gov.uk

Details

Prison Education and Accredited Programme in Custody Statistics 2022 - 2023 is based on data collected through the new Curious database which covers prisoner initial assessments, participation and achievement in courses. These are analysed by course level and prisoner characteristics, including learning difficulty / disability. It also covers Accredited Programmes for prisoners in custody.

Pre-release list

The Prison Education Statistics report is produced and handled by the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) analytical professionals and production staff.

Pre-release access of up to 24 hours is granted to the following persons at Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS):

Private Secretary x 4, Press Officer x 2, DD of Prisoner Outcomes x 1, Head of Prisoner Outcomes x 1, Head of Prison Education Policy x 1, Reduce Re-offending Lead x 1, Directorate Lead Psychologist.

  1. Prisoner Outcomes data from 2017. ↩

  2. Prisoners may undertake each assessment more than once over an academic year. Prisoners are counted once for each distinct level of outcome they are assessed at and once in the totals. ↩

  3. For more information on the curious system, please refer to the technical guide. ↩

  4. Prisoners can take multiple initial assessments at different levels. ↩

  5. Further information on course levels can be found https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels ↩

  6. Given this method of calculation, it is possible for the proportion to show higher than 100%. That is, the flow of prisoners through the estate over the 12 months to 31 March who had also taken an assessment is higher than the stock of prisoners at 31 March. ↩

  7. This result indicates that the flow of women in prison over the 12 months to 31 March 2023 who also took an initial assessment is higher than the stock of women in prison at 31 March 2023. ↩

  8. Learning difficulty / disability assessments are not required for all prisoners; we do not know how many of the prisoners that were not assessed have an LDD. ↩

  9. There were 519 Prisoner records where the ethnicity was not known and could not be found through linking with other data sources. ↩

  10. Total volumes over the financial year for starts and completions will not necessarily match. This is because an offender who completed in the current financial year might have started the programme in previous years. ↩

  11. A complete list of accredited programmes for offenders in custody can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1140979/HMPPS_Accredited_Programmes.docx ↩

  12. In this publication, programmes are grouped into one of six categories: Domestic Violence, Extremism, General Offending, Sexual Offending, Substance Misuse or Violence. For monitoring purposes, Offender Behaviour Programmes (OBPs) in custody include domestic violence, violence and general offending completions but exclude sexual offender treatment and substance misuse programmes, which are reported separately. ↩

  13. In 2022, the Resolve programme was rolled down with resource being diverted into other accredited programmes options. ↩

  14. Under exceptional circumstances, offenders in custody can start more than one accredited programme in any financial year. The figures presented in this chapter refer to the number of starts and might not equal the number of offenders who started any given programme during the same financial year. ↩

  15. Programmes relating to domestic violence and sexual offending are available for male prisoners only. Certain programmes relating to general offending (KAINOS and New Me Strengths) and violence (Kaizen Violence, Identity Matters and Becoming New Me) are available for male prisoners only. ↩

  16. One woman had her ethnicity recorded as unknown. ↩

  17. Offender Management Statistics Quarterly for the quarter ending March 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2023 ↩

  18. There were 101 starts where gender was not known. ↩

  19. There were 75 completions where gender was not known. ↩

  20. Total volumes over the financial year for starts and completions will not necessarily match. This is because an offender who completed in the current financial year might have started the programme in previous years. ↩

  21. A complete list of accredited programmes for offenders in custody can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1140979/HMPPS_Accredited_Programmes.docx ↩

  22. Under exceptional circumstances, offenders in custody can start more than one accredited programme in any financial year. The figures presented in this chapter refer to the number of starts and might not equal the number of offenders who started any given programme during the same financial year. ↩

  23. All prison accredited programmes are suitable for males; with Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Healthy Identity Intervention (HII), Control of Violence for Angry Impulsive Drinkers (COVAID) and Building Skills for Recovery (BSR) suitable for both males and females. ↩

  24. On 31 March 2023, 72% of the overall prison population were from a white ethnic background while 28% were from an ethnic minority (excluding white ethnic) background. Please note that the prison population count was a snapshot of the population on this date, whereas accredited programme completions data cover the full 12-month financial year period from April 2022 to March 2023. ↩

  25. At the time of publishing this report, the latest release of Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2023 was released on 26th October 2023. For the purposes of comparison of figures from earlier editions of HMPPS Offender Equalities report, use the OMSQ figures from the October to December edition as outlined above, which refer to the end of the 2022/23 financial year at 31st March 2023. ↩

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