Official Statistics

HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2024-25

Published 27 November 2025

Applies to England and Wales

© Crown copyright 2025

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Main Points
Of those prisoners who declared a sexual orientation between January and March 2025, 97% (72,174) stated that they were Heterosexual This is broadly comparable with trends reported over the past 12 years.
There were 339 transgender prisoners on the 31st March 2025 and nine additional prisoners were known to have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) This was an increase on the figure of 295 recorded in 2024. The number of prisoners with a GRC is down from 10 on 31st March 2024.
Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) applications were most likely to come from prisoners aged over 30 years, prisoners from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background and prisoners who reported a Christian religion or belief During the year ending March 2025, women who were aged over 30 years made 55% of the applications to MBUs; women from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background made 77% of applications; and 48% of applications were from women who reported a Christian religion or belief.
Self-declared pregnant prisoners were most likely to be aged over 30 years, from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background, who reported a Christian religion or belief Fifty-three per cent of self-declared pregnant women were aged over 30 years; 80% were women from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background; and 47% were women who reported a Christian religion or belief.
Prisoners most likely to have an Enhanced status were Male prisoners, older prisoners, White (inc. White ethnic minorities) prisoners, prisoners reporting a Buddhist religion or belief, and prisoners reporting as Gay/Lesbian Forty-eight per cent of Male prisoners, 73% of prisoners aged 60+, 50% of White (inc. White ethnic minorities) prisoners, 65% of prisoners reporting a Buddhist religion or belief, and 63% of prisoners reporting as Gay/Lesbian had an Enhanced (initial or extended) status.
Prisoners most likely to have a Basic status were Male prisoners, younger prisoners, Black prisoners, prisoners reporting a Muslim religion or belief, and prisoners reporting as Heterosexual Six per cent of Male prisoners, 14% of prisoners aged 15-17, 9% of Black prisoners, 8% of prisoners reporting a Muslim religion or belief, and 6% of prisoners reporting as Heterosexual had a Basic status.
Accredited Programme starts and completions were most likely to come from prisoners who were Male, prisoners aged 30-39 years, and prisoners from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background Other groups who were most likely to start or complete Accredited Programmes were prisoners who reported a Christian religion or belief, prisoners who self-reported as Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership, and prisoners who reported as Heterosexual.

Statistician’s Comment

The HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2024-25 presents a breakdown of prison population by sexual orientation only, which is not published elsewhere. Data on sex, age, ethnicity and religion or belief, previously published in this report, can be found in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication.

Also updated in the 2024-25 report is the terminology regarding data on the biological sex of transgender prisoners, where legal gender was previously reported.

The number of transgender prisoners has continued to increase, reaching a series high of 339. This represents an increase of 15% on the previous year, compared with an increase of less than 0.1% for the total prison population over the same period. In addition, there were nine prisoners with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

The proportion of Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) applications approved by an MBU board reached a series high of 90%, albeit this was based on the lowest number of total applications being approved or refused since the series low in 2020-21.

Introduction

His 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 Annual Report 2024-25 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 age, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race (ethnicity), religion or belief, sex, 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 analyses 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.

Products published as part of the HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2024-25

The following products are published as part of this release: - A statistical bulletin, containing commentary on key trends in protected characteristic data. - A technical guide, providing further information on how the data are collected and processed; alongside relevant legislative or operational information relating to the topic area. - A set of tables for each chapter, providing national trends over time.

All products, including previous editions, can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmpps-annual-offender-equalities-report

Further prison and probation equalities data is routinely published in four other statistical releases:

  • Offender Management Statistics Quarterly
  • Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin
  • Deaths of Offenders in the Community
  • Proven Reoffending Statistics.

Each source includes written commentary and data tables relating to various protected characteristics. A summary of what is covered can be found in the Appendix at the end of this report, with fuller details in the accompanying Technical Guide.

Review of the publication

The purpose and content of the HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report is currently being reviewed. Please get in touch if you have views on the continuation of the HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report in its current form, the content, or the possible placement of related data across MoJ publications. Contact details are available on the last page of the publication.

1. Prison Population
Of those prisoners who declared a sexual orientation between January and March 2025, 97% (72,174) stated that they were Heterosexual (Table 1.2) This is broadly comparable with trends reported over the past 12 years.

Data for prisoner protected characteristics relating to sex, age, ethnicity and religion or belief, previously published in the Offender Equalities Report, are published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ)[footnote 1]. This chapter therefore shows only a breakdown of data on sexual orientation of the prison population in England and Wales (Tables 1.1 and 1.2), which has not been published elsewhere.

Of those prisoners who declared a sexual orientation between January and March 2025, 97% (72,174) stated that they were Heterosexual (Table 1.2).

Gay/Lesbian and Bisexual offenders accounted for 1.3% (994) and 1.4% (1,076) of the total prison population, respectively. Those who declared another sexuality comprised 0.3% (195) of the total population[footnote 2]. These proportions were calculated excluding individuals whose sexual orientation is stated as “Refusal/Not Disclosed” or “Not Known”.

When considering these figures, it is important to note that the declaration rate for sexual orientation was 85%, based on an average of the prison population taken over the quarter (between January and March 2025). Data quality is assumed to be low for prisoner sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is self-reported by prisoners, and likely to be under-reported as well as prone to bias towards heterosexuality. Data are drawn from internal Management Information and therefore may differ from other published population totals.

2. Transgender Prisoners
There were 339 transgender prisoners on the 31st March 2025[footnote 3] This was an increase on the figure of 295 recorded in 2024.
In addition, there were nine prisoners known to have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) This is down from 10 on 31st March 2024.
Most transgender prisoners reported their biological sex[footnote 4] as Male There were 276 transgender prisoners (81%) who reported their biological sex as Male and 63 (19%) as Female.
Ten per cent of transgender prisoners were from an Ethnic Minority background Where ethnicity was known, 10% (32) of the transgender prison population were from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities), down from 11% of the transgender population in 2024.
Most transgender prisoners were in the men’s estate There were 275 transgender prisoners (81%) in the men’s estate and 64 (19%) were in the women’s 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 identity that is different to their biological sex. They will have had a Local Case Board (as defined by ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ policy framework[footnote 5]) and are known to the staff within the individual prison where they are located.

Apart from reporting on the overall count, prisoners who have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) are excluded from any further analysis within this report. This is to ensure compliance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004[footnote 6]. 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 as of 31st March 2025 were provided by equalities representatives in public and private prisons in England and Wales.

Biological Sex and Gender Identity

There were 339 prisoners living in, or presenting in, a gender different from their biological sex and who have had a local case board. Of these, 276 (81%) reported their biological sex as Male and 63 (19%) reported as Female.

When asked about the gender with which the prisoner identified, 247 (73%) identified as Female[footnote 7], 64 (19%) as Male[footnote 8], 18 (5%) as Non-binary[footnote 9] and 10 (3%) self-identified in a different way[footnote 10], or did not provide a response.

There were nine prisoners known to have a Gender Recognition Certificate as of 31st March 2025. These prisoners are not included in the transgender prisoner totals presented in this report.

Based on data as at 31st March 2025, there were 3.9 transgender prisoners reported per 1,000 prisoners[footnote 11], an increase from 3.4 per 1,000 on 31st March 2024. The transgender prison population increased by 15% compared with less than 0.1% for the total prison population over the same period.

Prison Establishments and Gender Identity

Eighty-two of the 123 public and private prisons (67%) in England and Wales said that they had one or more transgender prisoners on 31st March 2025. Of the 339 transgender prisoners:

  • Two hundred and seventy-five (81%) were in men’s establishments. The majority of these (245) self-identified as transgender women (biological sex Male, self-identifies as Female). The remainder self-identified as transgender men (biological sex Female, self-identifies as Male), Non-binary, in a different way, or did not provide a response.

  • Sixty-four (19%) were in women’s establishments. The majority of these (61) self-identified as transgender men (biological sex Female, self-identifies as Male). The remainder self-identified as transgender women (biological sex Male, self-identifies as Female), Non-binary, in a different way, or did not provide a response.

Age

Most self-declared transgender prisoners (76%) were aged between 20-49 years. Almost a third (31%) of the transgender prison population were aged between 30-39 years, the same level as in March 2024 (31%). Only 2% were aged 18-19 years (1% in 2024), while 10% were aged 60 and over (9% in 2024). While the distribution across age ranges was broadly similar compared with last year, there was a fall in the percentage of transgender prisoners in the 50-59 age group, from 16% in 2024 to 12% this year.

Ethnicity

Where ethnicity was known, 32 of the 339 transgender prisoners (10%) self-reported that they were from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities) and 297 (90%) were from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background. The proportion of transgender prisoners from Ethnic Minority backgrounds was similar to 31st March 2024 (11%).

Religion or Belief

There were 134 transgender prisoners who self-identified as having a Christian religion or belief, which was 40% of the total transgender prisoner population, down slightly from 41% (121 prisoners) on the same date in 2024. Those who had no religion or belief comprised 26% of the population this year (89 prisoners), down from 30% (89 prisoners) last year. Twenty-three per cent (77 prisoners) reported another religion or belief (up from 17%, 50 prisoners in 2024).

Marital status

Most of the transgender prisoner population (81%, 251 prisoners) with a known marital status were Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership, which is a similar percentage when compared with 31st March 2024, when 82% (221 prisoners) reported as being in the same category. Ten per cent (32 prisoners) of transgender prisoners reported being Married/in a Civil Partnership, the same percentage as in the previous year (27 prisoners).

Figure 2.1: Number of transgender prisoners by protected characteristic, 31st March 2025 (Source: Table 2.1)

3. Mother and Baby Units and Pregnant Prisoners
Over half of MBU applications came from prisoners aged over 30 years During the year ending March 2025, women who were aged over 30 years made 42 applications to MBUs (55% of the total). Women who were 18 to 30 years old made 35 applications (45%).
Most MBU applications came from prisoners from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background There were 59 applications from women from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background (77% of the total). Women from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities) made 18 applications (23%).
Almost half of MBU applications came from prisoners who reported a Christian religion or belief[footnote 12] Forty-eight per cent (37 out of 77) of applications were from women who reported a Christian religion or belief. Forty-three per cent of applications (33) were from women who reported no religion or belief and 9 % of applications (seven) came from women who reported another religion or belief[footnote 13].
More than half of self-declared pregnant prisoners were over 30 years old Fifty-three per cent of the self-declared pregnant prisoners (103 out of 196) were aged over 30 years. The remaining 47% (93 out of 196) were aged 18 to 30 years old.
The majority of self-declared pregnant prisoners were from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background Eighty per cent of self-declared pregnant prisoners (157 out of 196) were from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background, and 20% (39) were from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities)[footnote 14].
Just under half of self-declared pregnant prisoners reported a Christian religion or belief Forty-seven per cent (93 out of 196) reported a Christian religion or belief, 43% (84) reported no religion or belief and 9 % (18) reported another religion or belief.

A Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is a discrete specialist 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 up to and around the age of 18 months can apply for a place in an MBU. Details of the process are given in the Technical Guide accompanying this publication.

This report provides details of the protected characteristics of women making applications to MBUs and the outcome of the application including approvals and refusals. However, due to the low number of applications refused, some proportions and totals of MBU board recommendations cannot be shown due to the risk of disclosure of personal information. General statistics on women in MBUs can be found in the HMPPS Annual Digest 2024-25[footnote 15].

There are six MBUs in operation across the women’s estate in England (there are no women’s prisons in Wales). These provide an overall total capacity of 64 places for mothers and 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 16].
  • Not all applications will receive a decision, as the application may not proceed for a number of reasons (e.g. a woman may withdraw her application or leave custody).
  • An application may be refused for several reasons, for example safeguarding risks, offending history, offence, behaviour or concerns from Children’s Services[footnote 17].
  • MBU board decisions on applications may not be made in the same reporting year as the application was received.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • All MBU board 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[footnote 18].

The pregnancy data represents women who have self-declared as pregnant and consent to sharing this information, having been made aware why their personal data is being monitored and how it will be used. HMPPS publish these data anonymously as part of aggregate totals, preventing identification of individuals and infringement of the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. It does not represent women who have reserved their right not to disclose this personal data to HMPPS, or who might have disclosed this data to healthcare providers in confidence. Self-declared data cannot be quality assured, and therefore accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

More than half of all applications to MBUs came from women who were aged over 30 years.

Women who were aged over 30 years made 42 applications to MBUs (55% of the total). Women who were 18 to 30 years old made 35 applications (45%).

There were 59 applications (77% of the total) from women from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background. Women from an Ethnic Minority (excluding White ethnic minorities) background made 18 applications (23%).

There were 37 applications (48% of the total) from women reporting a Christian religion or belief. Women who reported no religion or belief made 33 applications (43%) and those reporting another religion or belief made seven applications (9%).

For women aged 18 to 30 years old, 83% of MBU board recommendations (20 out of 24) were approved by a Governor/Director.

For women over 30 years, 27 of the MBU board recommendations were approved[footnote 19].

For women from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background, 89% of MBU board recommendations (34 out of 38) were approved by an MBU board. For women from an Ethnic Minority (excluding White ethnic minorities) background, 13 of the MBU board recommendations were approved.

For women reporting a Christian religion or belief, 23 of the MBU board recommendations were approved by a Governor/Director. For those who reported another religion or belief (not Christian), there were six approvals and for those who reported no religion or belief there were 18 approvals.

More than half of self-declared pregnant prisoners were over 30 years old.

Fifty-three per cent of the self-declared pregnant prisoners (103 out of 196) were aged over 30 years. The remaining 47% (93 out of 196) were aged 18 to 30 years old.

Eighty per cent of self-declared pregnant prisoners (157 out of 196) were from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background, and 20% (39) were from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities).

Forty-seven per cent of self-declared pregnant prisoners (93 out of 196) reported a Christian religion or belief, 43% (84) reported no religion or belief and 9% (18) reported another religion or belief.

Figure 3.1: Proportion of MBU applications, by protected characteristics, England and Wales, the 12 months ending March 2025 (Source: Table 3.1)

Figure 3.2: Proportion of self-declared pregnant prisoners, by protected characteristic, England and Wales, in the 12 months ending March 2025 (Source: Table 3.2)

4. Incentives
As at 31st March 2025, a higher proportion of Male prisoners had an Enhanced (initial or extended) status compared with Female prisoners Compared with 43% of Female prisoners, 48% of Male prisoners had an Enhanced (initial or extended) status.
As age increased, the proportion of prisoners with a Basic status decreased The proportion of those with a Basic status decreased from 15% of those aged 18-20 years down to 1% of those aged 60+ years.
A lower proportion of prisoners from the Other, Mixed, and Black or Black British ethnicity groups had an Enhanced (initial) status compared with White and Asian prisoners A lower proportion of prisoners from the Other (35%), Mixed (42%), and Black or Black British (42%) ethnicity groups had an Enhanced (initial) status compared with White (inc. White ethnic minorities) (49%) and Asian (48%) prisoners.
Prisoners who reported their religion or belief as Buddhist had the highest proportion with an Enhanced (initial) status Prisoners who reported their religion or belief as Buddhist had the highest proportion of prisoners with an Enhanced (initial) status (64%), in contrast with those reporting a Muslim religion or belief who had the lowest proportion (41%).
Heterosexual prisoners were more likely to have a Basic status Heterosexual prisoners were more likely to have a Basic status (7%), compared with 4% of Bisexual prisoners, 2% of Gay/Lesbian prisoners and 3% of prisoners who reported their sexual orientation as Other.

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. The scheme allows prisoners to earn privileges through good behaviour and engagement in the regime and rehabilitation. Privileges can also be lost through poor behaviour.

The IEP scheme was replaced by the Incentives Policy Framework, which went fully live in January 2020. The current policy has a greater focus on incentivising positive behaviour, providing consistency in key areas. It gives governors greater flexibility to tailor incentives to the local needs and challenges in their prison and to create incentive levels above Enhanced.

There have been five incentive levels overall: Entry, Basic, Standard, Enhanced (initial) and Enhanced (extended) - although these have changed over time as levels have been added and phased out. Entry was introduced in 2013 and abolished in August 2019 while Enhanced (extended) began being measured from 2022.

Prisoners typically start on Standard level, and positive behaviour can be rewarded with progression through incentive levels but can also be lost by moving down an incentive level(s) for poor behaviour with the associated increase or reduction in privileges.

Sex

  • A lower proportion of Female prisoners had an Enhanced (initial) status (43%), compared with Male prisoners (48%).
  • Similarly, 3% of Female prisoners had a Basic status, compared with 6% of Male prisoners.

Age

  • The proportion of prisoners with a Basic or Standard status broadly decreased with age (except for 15-17 year olds). Only 1% of prisoners aged 60+ had a Basic status, compared with 15% of 18-20 year olds. Similarly, 26% of prisoners aged 60+ had a Standard status, compared with 65% of 18-20 year olds.
  • In contrast, the proportion of prisoners with an Enhanced (initial) status broadly increased with age (except for 15-17 year olds). There were 72% of prisoners aged 60+ with an Enhanced (initial) status, compared with 20% of 18-20 year olds.

Ethnicity

  • A lower proportion of prisoners from the Other (35%), Mixed (42%), and Black or Black British (42%) ethnicity groups had an Enhanced (initial) status compared with White (inc. White ethnic minorities) (49%) and Asian (48%) prisoners.
  • In contrast, a higher proportion of prisoners from the Black or Black British (9%) and Mixed (8%) ethnicity groups had a Basic status compared with White (inc. White ethnic minorities) prisoners (5%), Asian prisoners (6%) and prisoners from the Other ethnicity group ( 6%).

Religion or Belief

  • Prisoners who reported their religion or belief as Buddhist had the highest proportion with an Enhanced (initial) status (64%), in contrast with those reporting a Muslim religion or belief who had the lowest proportion (41%).
  • Prisoners who reported their religion or belief as Muslim had the highest proportion of prisoners with a Basic status (8%), followed by those who reported their religion or belief as Jewish (7%) and Christian (6%).
  • Prisoners who reported their religion or belief as Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh had the lowest proportions of prisoners with a Basic status (3%).

Sexual Orientation

  • Prisoners who reported their sexual orientation as Heterosexual were most likely to have a Basic status (7%), compared with prisoners who reported their sexual orientation as Gay/Lesbian (2%), Bisexual (4%) or Other (3%).
  • Similarly, prisoners who reported their sexual orientation as Heterosexual were least likely to have an Enhanced status (48%), compared with prisoners who reported their sexual orientation as Gay/Lesbian (62%), Bisexual (56%) or Other (61%).

Figure 4.1: Percentage of prisoners in each protected characteristic group with an Enhanced (initial or extended) status, 31 March 2025 (Source: Table 4.1)

Figure 4.2: Percentage of prisoners in each protected characteristic group with a Standard status, 31 March 2025 (Source: Table 4.1)

Figure 4.3: Percentage of prisoners in each protected characteristic group with a Basic status, 31 March 2025 (Source: Table 4.1)

5. Accredited Programmes for Offenders in Custody
Of all accredited programme starts and completions in the year ending March 2025, 97% were Male and 3% were Female offenders[footnote 20][footnote 21] These proportions for starts and completions were the same as for the previous two reporting years.
The 30 to 39 age group accounted for the highest proportion of both starts and completions, each accounting for 38% Offenders aged under 25 made up 13% of programme starts and 12% of completions. Four per cent of both starts and completions were for offenders aged 60 and over.
Of all accredited programme starts and completions, 75% were offenders from a White ethnic background (including White ethnic minorities) Offenders from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities) comprised 25% of both programme starts and completions.
Offenders reporting their religion or belief as Christian made up 45% of both starts and completions Offenders reporting no religion or belief comprised 31% of all starts and 32% of completions, and those reporting a Muslim religion or belief accounted for 17% of both starts and completions.
The majority of programme starts (86%) and completions (85%) were for offenders who self-reported as Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership Eight per cent of both starts and completions were those reporting as Married or in a Civil Partnership and four per cent were for those who reported Cohabiting.
The majority of programme starts and completions (97%) were by offenders who self-reported as heterosexual The proportion of offenders identifying as Gay/Lesbian was 1% of starts and 2% of completions, and 1% of offenders identified as bisexual for both starts and completions.

Accreditation is a system for ensuring that intervention programmes offered to offenders, which aim to reduce reoffending, have a proper theoretical basis and are designed in accordance with the ‘What Works’ literature[footnote 22].

HMPPS offers a range of accredited programmes[footnote 23] varying in length, complexity, and mode of delivery, and that have been designed to target the most evidenced risks and needs for 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 evidence shows is most likely to reduce reoffending. All HMPPS accredited programmes are monitored to give programme integrity[footnote 24].

Throughout this chapter, starts and completions for accredited programmes are presented by offender characteristic. Whilst sex and age are routinely recorded for all offenders, other protected characteristics throughout the chapter are self-reported. More information and data about accredited programme volumes for starts and completions are available in the Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics report[footnote 25][footnote 26][footnote 27][footnote 28].

In the 12 months ending March 2025:

Sex

  • Starts: Male offenders[footnote 29] made up 97% (5,208) of all accredited programme starts, while Female offenders made up 3% (169) of all starts. Females comprised a higher proportion in Next Generation (7%, 22 starts) and Violence programme starts (5%, 20 starts).
  • Completions: Of all completions, Male offenders comprised 97% (4,706) and females made up 3% (126). Female offenders comprised 7% (19) of all Violence programmes and 4 % (105) of General Offending programmes.

Age Group

  • Starts: The 30 to 39 years age group had the highest proportion of all programme starts (2,051), accounting for 38% of the total number. Twenty per cent (1,071) of all starts were in the 40 to 49 age group, whilst 18% (949) were in the 25-29 age group. The percentage of starts for offenders aged under 25 was lower this year (13%) compared with the same period in 2024 (15%), whilst the percentage of starts increased for those aged 50 and above (11%) compared with last year (9 %). A higher proportion of starts in the under 25 years age bracket were seen for Extremism programmes (39%), Next Generation programmes (22%) and Violence programmes (20%), compared with overall programme starts.
  • Completions: There were 1,858 offenders aged between 30 to 39 years completing accredited programmes, 38% of the total number. This age group accounted for 44% of Substance Misuse programme completions (40), and 41% of both General Offending (1,170) programme and Domestic Violence (100) programme completions. While offenders aged 60 and over (177) comprised 4% of completions overall, they accounted for 11% (123) of Sexual Offending programme completions. Offenders aged 18 to 20 (98) comprised 2% of the total number of completed accredited programmes, but 6 % of completions for next generation programmes (10).

Ethnic Background

  • Starts: A quarter (25%, 1,350) of all programme starts were by offenders from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities). The remaining 75% of starts (4,001) were by offenders from a White (inc. White ethnic minorities) ethnic background. A higher proportion of starts were by White offenders for Substance Misuse (95%) and Sexual Offending programmes (86%), while a higher proportion of starts for Extremism and Violence programmes were by offenders from an Ethnic Minority background (61% and 34%, respectively).
  • Completions: Offenders from a White (including White ethnic minorities) ethnic background accounted for 75% (3,597) of all programme completions, and offenders from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White ethnic minorities) accounted for 25% (1,209). White offenders made up 97% of completions for Substance Misuse programmes (87) and 87% of Sexual Offending programmes (930). Offenders from Ethnic Minority backgrounds comprised 62% of Extremism programmes (13) and 35% of Violence programme completions (102).

Religion

  • Starts: Forty-five per cent (2,431) of all accredited programmes starts were by offenders who reported their religion or belief as Christian. Thirty-one per cent (1,664) of starts were by offenders who reported no religion or belief. Offenders reporting a Muslim religion or belief comprised 17% (939) of all starts. Offenders self-reporting a Christian religion or belief made up 61% of Mixed Cohort programme starts. Those who reported no religion or belief comprised 48% of Substance Misuse programme starts and 38% of Sexual Offending programme starts. Fifty-two per cent of Extremism programme starts were by offenders self-reporting a Muslim religion or belief.
  • Completions: Offenders reporting a Christian religion or belief comprised 45% (2,157) of all accredited programme completions, while those reporting no religion or belief made up 32% (1,533). Offenders reporting a Muslim religion or belief accounted for 17% of all accredited programme completions (829). Offenders reporting a Christian religion or belief comprised 63% of Mixed Cohort programme completions (26), while offenders reporting no religion or belief made up 47% of Substance Misuse programme completions (43) and 37% of Sexual Offending programme completions (405). Sixty-two per cent of Extremism programme completions were by offenders self-reporting a Muslim religion or belief.

Marital Status

  • Starts: Eighty-six per cent (4,277) of all starts were by offenders who self-reported they were Single, Not Married/in a Civil Partnership, whilst 8% (383) reported they were Married/in a Civil Partnership. Offenders Cohabiting (living with their partner) made up 4 % (183) of all starts. Offenders who reported as Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership comprised a higher proportion of starts for Extremism programmes (100%), Mixed Cohort (92%) and Violence programmes (92%) compared with their percentage of starts overall.
  • Completions: The majority of all accredited programme completions (85%, 3,832 completions) were by individuals who were Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership. Eight per cent of completions overall were those reporting as Married/in a Civil Partnership (348), while 4 % were by offenders who reported as Cohabiting (171). When looking at specific programme types, a higher proportion of Mixed Cohort programme completions (93%) and Violence programme completions (92%) were by individuals who were Single or Not Married/in a Civil Partnership, compared with the overall total.

Sexual Orientation

  • Starts: The majority (97%) of starts were by offenders who self-reported their sexual orientation as Heterosexual (4,765). A small proportion of starts were by offenders who self-identified as Bisexual or Gay/Lesbian (each 1%). All offenders starting Domestic Violence and Substance Misuse programmes identified as Heterosexual, and almost all (99%) of starts for General Offending and Violence programmes were by offenders who self-identified as Heterosexual. Gay/Lesbian offenders made up 5% of Sexual Offending programme starts (44) and Bisexual offenders made up 4% (42).
  • Completions: Ninety-seven per cent (4,258) of completions were for offenders self-reporting their sexual orientation as Heterosexual. Heterosexual offenders accounted for all of completions for Domestic Violence, Extremism and Substance Misuse programmes. Although offenders identifying as Gay/Lesbian or Bisexual comprised 2% (78) and 1% (59) of overall programme completions, they made up 5% (49) and 4 % (40) respectively of Sexual Offending programme completions.

Figure 5.1: Completions for accredited programmes in custody by protected characteristic, 12 months ending March 2025 (Source: Tables 5.9 to 5.16)

Appendix: Additional Data Sources

Much of the equalities data which formed part of previously published editions of this report can be found in four published information sources. Each source includes written commentary and data tables relating to various protected characteristics.

A full breakdown of metrics and protected characteristic breakdowns included within these publications can be found in the Technical Guide accompanying 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

General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from: www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/about-the-authority/uk-statistical-system

Ministry of Justice publishes data relating to offender management in England and Wales. Equivalent statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice

https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics-and-research-justice

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed as per the Ministry of Justice Press Enquiries webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Service Users Equality Performance Team at the Ministry of Justice:

Responsible Statistician: Danielle House

Email: SUEPer_Stats@justice.gov.uk

A copy of this report, the Technical Guide and accompanying tables can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmpps-annual-offender-equalities-report

© Crown copyright

Produced by the Ministry of Justice

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

  1. OMSQ is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly ↩

  2. It is not possible to provide further information about the “other sexuality” category. ↩

  3. This figure excludes those with a Gender Recognition Certificate, reported separately. ↩

  4. Biological sex is the sex recorded when a person is born. ↩

  5. The framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-care-and-management-of-individuals-who-are-transgender ↩

  6. A count of the number of prisoners with a GRC was collected for the first time in 2021. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 makes it an offence to disclose that someone has a GRC, so it was necessary to ensure that prisoners’ anonymity was maintained. Therefore, no information on the prisoners’ other personal characteristics was collected, only the total number of these prisoners. ↩

  7. Transgender females for this collection are defined as prisoners with a biological sex of Male who identify as Female. ↩

  8. Transgender males are defined as prisoners with a biological sex of Female who identify as Male. ↩

  9. Beginning with the 2021 collection, “Non-binary” is presented as a category for the gender within which the prisoner identifies. Not all individuals who identify as Non-binary are managed via Local Case Boards, so this is likely to result in an undercount of the number of Non-binary individuals in the prison estate. Non-binary prisoners are managed in part of the prison estate which matches their biological sex. ↩

  10. An additional field is included in the collection form for self-described gender identity. This gives transgender individuals an opportunity to add any extra self-identifying information they feel is important. ↩

  11. Population data from Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024 ↩

  12. Christian religions and beliefs include Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican and other unspecified Christian denominations. ↩

  13. Includes Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish, Quaker, Jehovah’s Witness and other recognised religions or beliefs. ↩

  14. Ethnic Minority includes Black/Black British, Asian/Asian British, mixed ethnic groups and other ethnic groups (excluding White minorities). ↩

  15. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2024-to-march-2025 ↩

  16. Multiple applications can be submitted by one woman over the duration of the financial year period; therefore, application volumes will usually be higher than counts for individual mothers. ↩

  17. More information about care proceedings can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/if-your-child-is-taken-into-care/care-proceedings ↩

  18. The Prisons Policy Framework which includes details regarding applying for and facilitating Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) placements can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pregnancy-mbus-and-maternal-separation-in-womens-prisons-policy-framework ↩

  19. Due to the low number of applications refused, some proportions and totals of MBU board recommendations cannot be shown due to the risk of disclosure of personal information. ↩

  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. All percentages are calculated based on cases where protected characteristics are known. ↩

  22. ‘What Works’ literature is a broad body of literature, one example of which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/offending-behaviour-programmes-and-interventions ↩

  23. More information about accredited programmes, including a list of accredited programmes and further details about the accreditation process can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmpps-accredited-programmes ↩

  24. Details around the accreditation process can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/offending-behaviour-programmes-and-interventions#accreditation ↩

  25. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-education-and-accredited-programme-statistics ↩

  26. Under exceptional circumstances, offenders 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. ↩

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

  28. In this publication, programmes are grouped into one of eight categories: Domestic Violence, Extremism, General Offending, Mixed Cohort, Next Generation, Sexual Offending, Substance Misuse or Violence. ↩

  29. All cohort-specific programmes relating to domestic violence and sexual offending programmes are for males only. ↩

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