Official Statistics

Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2022 to March 2023

Updated 14 December 2023

Applies to England and Wales

This release contains official statistics in development on individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme due to concerns they were susceptible to radicalisation. Following initial screening and assessment, referrals may be passed to a multi-agency ‘Channel panel’ where a risk of radicalisation exists. Chaired by Local Authorities, these panels determine the extent of an individual’s susceptibility to radicalisation and whether a tailored package of support is necessary and proportionate to address the risk.

This year’s publication is the first release of statistics since the Independent Review of Prevent (IRP), which was published on 08 February 2023. The majority of the period covered in this statistics release (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023) occurred prior to the publication of the IRP and it is therefore unlikely that any effect the IRP has had will be reflected in this statistical release.

Key results

In the year ending 31 March 2023, there were 6,817 referrals to Prevent. This is an increase of 6.4% compared to the previous year (6,406), and the third highest number of referrals since the first period reported on (2015/16). The increase is predominately driven by an increase in referrals from the Education, Community and Police sectors which saw increases of 16%, 16% and 7% respectively.

Similar to last year, the Education sector made the highest number of referrals (2,684; 39%), followed by the Police (1,943; 29%). The year ending 31 March 2023 saw referrals from the Education sector account for an increased proportion of all referrals (2,684 of 6,817; 39%) compared to last year (36%). Since data recording began in 2015/16, Education referrals have accounted for 33% of all referrals.

As in previous years, where gender was specified (6,801), most referrals were for males (6,125; 90%).

Of the referrals where age of the individual was known (6,796), those aged 15 to 20 again accounted for the largest proportion (2,203; 32%). Those aged 14 years and under account for the second largest proportion (2,119; 31%) of referrals. This year, Home Office analysts have included statistics broken down by a supplementary set of age groups to provide additional detail on the makeup of Prevent referrals. Those aged between 11 and 15 account for 2,628 (39%) of referrals where age is specified. Nearly half (46%) of referrals that became adopted cases are for individuals aged between 11 and 15.

Looking in more detail at the journey of individuals referred, the number of referrals discussed at a Channel panel (1,113, 16%) and adopted as a Channel case (645, 9%) decreased when compared with the previous year, despite the overall number of referrals increasing. The proportion of referrals being discussed at a Channel panel has decreased (16% this year versus 23% last year). The proportion of referrals that were adopted as a Channel case also decreased (9% this year versus 13% last year).

Similar to the previous year’s publication, for the type of concern associated with referrals, Home Office analysts have used the amended the type of concern categories which disaggregates the ‘Mixed, unstable and unclear’ (MUU) category into its respective sub-categories. The category ‘vulnerability present but no ideology of CT risk’ accounted for the largest proportion of referrals (2,505; 37%) in the year ending March 2023. For the third year running, the number of referrals for Extreme Right-Wing concerns (1,310; 19%) is greater than referrals for Islamist concerns (781; 11%). Of the 645 referrals that went on to be adopted as a Channel case, 296 (46%) were for Extreme Right-Wing concerns, 115 (18%) were for Islamist concerns, and 103 (16%) were for those with a Conflicted ideology.

1. Introduction

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

1.1 Coverage of this release

This release contains official statistics in development on the number of individuals recorded as having been referred to and supported through the Prevent programme in England and Wales, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. The statistics cover an individual’s journey from referral to adoption as a case, broken down by demographic statistics, the type of concern and regions.

More information about official statistics in development can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website. The Home Office aims to improve the quality of data recording and assurance procedures so that these statistics can be designated as official statistics in future years. Work is underway to improve the level of consistency in recording Prevent referrals across different regions in England and Wales. Home Office analysts have worked with policy colleagues and Counter Terrorism Policing to address issues which includes developing further guidance and training for Police Case Officers and Channel Practitioners and developing a merged data recording system.

More detailed breakdowns of the data relating to this release can be found in the accompanying data tables. This includes data for Prevent and Channel in the years ending March 2016 to March 2023.

1.2 Identification and referrals

If a member of the public, or someone working with the public, has a concern about a person they know who may be susceptible to radicalisation, they can raise their concerns with their Local Authority safeguarding team or the police for an assessment.

Staff working in public-facing organisations receive training to help identify people who may be susceptible to radicalisation, and what to do about it. Local Authorities, schools, colleges, universities, health bodies, prisons, probation organisations and the police are subject to a statutory duty through the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to include in their day-to-day work consideration of the need to safeguard people from being drawn into terrorism.

1.3 Initial assessment

The police screen all referrals to check whether the individual is already part of, or should be part of, a terrorism investigation, as these individuals are not appropriate for Channel support. Depending upon the type and level of terrorism risk identified by police, these cases may be adopted for management via a police-led partnership or escalated into an investigation. All Prevent referrals received are recorded on the Prevent Case Management Tracker (PCMT). Once this has taken place, the initial assessment may conclude that no further action is required. In other cases, an individual’s vulnerability may be assessed as not linked to radicalisation and they may be referred to another form of support. All Prevent referrals are confidential and do not result in a criminal record or any other form of sanction.

1.4 The Channel programme

The Channel programme in England and Wales is an initiative that provides a multi-agency approach to support people susceptible to radicalisation. For those individuals where the police assess there is a risk of radicalisation, a Channel panel chaired by the Local Authority, and attended by other partners such as representatives from education and health services, will meet to discuss the referral. They will discuss the extent of the susceptibility, assess all the circumstances of the case, and decide whether to adopt the individual as a Channel case. Cases are adopted in order to further assess the susceptibility, or to provide a tailored package of support where necessary and proportionate to do so. A Channel panel may decide that an individual’s vulnerability is not terrorism-related and will refer the individual to other forms of support. Data on Channel cases is extracted from the Home Office owned Channel Management Information System (CMIS). Information shared among partners is strictly within the terms of the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Home Office collects, processes and shares personal information to enable it to carry out its statutory functions as part of Channel. For further information on how personal data is stored and used for the Channel programme, please refer to the Channel Data Privacy Information Notice (DPIN).

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 placed the Channel programme on a statutory footing and created a duty on each Local Authority in England and Wales to ensure there is a panel in place for its area. Statutory guidance for Channel panels was first published in March 2015.

1.5 Providing support and leaving the programme

Participation in the Channel programme is confidential, and consent is obtained before Channel support is provided. Where consent is not secured, the case will need to be closed to Channel. Many types of support are available, addressing educational, vocational, mental health and other vulnerabilities. Ideological mentoring is common. Tailored support is provided based on the needs identified for an individual. The role of the Channel panel is to coordinate service support through statutory partners and Channel-commissioned Intervention Providers (IPs) or oversee existing activity depending on what is most appropriate and proportionate for the case.

A Channel panel will review the progress of an individual in the Channel programme on a monthly basis. If there is an escalation of risk, where deemed appropriate, the police may transfer a case from Channel to police-led partnership management or escalate it into an investigation. The panel decides an individual will leave the Channel programme when there is no further risk of radicalisation. Support to address non-radicalisation-related concerns could continue in some cases but would be managed outside of the Channel programme.

The Local Authority or other providers may provide alternative forms of support to individuals who do not consent to Channel support or are deemed not appropriate for the Channel programme. In these circumstances, the police will manage any risk of terrorism that might present.

After an individual has left the Channel programme, their progress will be reviewed after 6 and 12 months as a minimum. If the individual shows further radicalisation-related concerns, they can re-enter the Channel programme and receive further support.

Figure 1: Prevent process flow diagram

The Prevent process is summarised below in Figure 1, including how a referral is handled within Police Case Management and at Channel.

Source: Home Office

2. People referred to the Prevent programme

This section presents statistics on the number of referrals to Prevent due to concerns that an individual is susceptible to radicalisation. It includes the sector of referral and information on how the individuals referred were assessed and supported, including those who required no further action, a referral to another service or were reviewed by a Channel panel for support through the Channel programme.

The data presented in this release represents activity recorded by the police and Local Authority partners. Although quality assurance is undertaken to confirm these numbers, the statistics rely on recording of information and so the overall completeness and accuracy of reported totals cannot be guaranteed. Please see the user guide for further information.

Throughout this release, the number of referrals reported includes individuals who had been referred more than once during the year. This information is included as each referral may not contain the same information (for example, different sector of referral or type of concern) and may not have the same outcome (for example, signposted to statutory partners, discussed at a Channel panel). Including multiple referrals provides a more complete picture of all support recorded and provided through the Prevent programme in the year ending March 2023. Therefore, the release does not specifically provide the unique number of individuals referred.

2.1 The referral process

In the year ending 31 March 2023, there were 6,817 referrals to Prevent due to concerns that an individual was susceptible to radicalisation. The Education sector made the most referrals (2,684; 39%), followed by the Police (1,943; 29%). Compared with the previous year, the proportion of referrals made by the Education, Police, Community and ‘Other’ sectors increased, whilst the proportion of referrals made by Local Authorities, Health, Friends and Family, and HMPPS decreased.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, the number of referrals from the Education sector increased again compared with the previous year (from 2,305 to 2,684) - representing a 16% increase. Of total referrals, those from the Education sector accounted for 39%, constituting the highest proportion of referrals received from the Education sector since comparable data are available.

Figure 2: Sector of referral and subsequent journey, year ending 31 March 2023

Source: Home Office, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, England and Wales, April 2022 to March 2023, Table 2.

Notes:

  1. HM Prison and Probation Service.
  2. ‘Other’ includes employment, military and government (including Home Office Immigration Enforcement and HMRC), for example.
  3. Referrals received that ‘required no further action’ include but are not limited to: individuals already receiving support through Prevent, those presenting a higher risk than can be managed by Prevent, and those who were found to have no susceptibility at initial assessment.
  4. Individuals can be signposted after a Channel case has been closed to ensure that they continue to receive support for any non-radicalisation-related vulnerabilities.
  5. Data quality checks found that in some cases, Channel Case Officers are recording that an individual has been ‘signposted to a service’ following case closure, when notifying the source of referral to re-refer if concerns are raised again in future. Therefore, the statistics on the number of individuals referred to alternative services may include services providing new support following case closure, and services continuing to support the individual following their exit from the Prevent programme.
  6. Cases who were recommended at Channel panel for adoption but where the individual did not consent or withdrew consent are counted as ‘Not adopted as a Channel case’.
  7. The sum of ‘Required no further action’, ‘Signposted to other services’, and ‘discussed at a Channel panel’ do not equal the total number of Prevent referrals due to 147 open cases at the information gathering stage at the point of data confirmation (10 May 2023). Individuals can be signposted to statutory partners to address wider susceptibilities depending on what the panel assess as being necessary and proportionate.
  8. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Of the 6,817 referrals to Prevent in the year ending 31 March 2023:

  • 82% (5,557) were deemed not suitable for Channel consideration and exited the process prior to a Channel panel discussion; of which the majority were signposted to other services (4,385; 79%)
  • 16% (1,113) were considered for Channel support
  • Ultimately, 9% (645) of all referrals were adopted as a Channel case
  • An additional 147 cases were open at the information gathering stage at the time of data confirmation (10 May 2023)

Of the 4,385 referrals signposted to alternative services for support, most were directed to the Education sector (1,332; 30%) and Local Authorities (910; 21%).

Of the 1,113 referrals deemed suitable through preliminary assessment to be discussed at a Channel panel in the year ending 31 March 2023:

  • 468 (42%) referrals were not adopted as a Channel case; of these, the majority (384; 82%) were signposted to alternative services[footnote 1] where the panel deemed the individuals to have non-radicalisation-related susceptibilities, appropriate support was already in place, or they may not have consented to support
  • Over half of referrals discussed at a Channel Panel were adopted as a Channel case (645; 58%). Of these, over half (370; 57%) of the individuals concerned left the Channel process within the 12 months ending 31 March 2023; 275 (43%) remained a Channel case at time of data confirmation (10 May 2023)

Of the 370 referrals adopted as a Channel case that have subsequently closed, 332 (90%) of the individuals concerned exited with no further radicalisation concerns. This can include individuals:

  • who had a susceptibility to radicalisation addressed by a Channel-commissioned Intervention Provider
  • for whom the Channel panel oversaw existing support already in place through statutory partners
  • who were adopted as a Channel case to further assess whether a susceptibility to radicalisation was present and determine whether additional support was needed

The remaining 38 referrals (10%) that were adopted as a case and have now closed, concerned individuals who either withdrew from the Channel programme or were withdrawn because it was no longer deemed appropriate, although in some cases support from other services may still be in place. Any terrorism risk that might be present is managed by the police.

2.2 Referrals over time

In the year ending 31 March 2023, there were 6,817 referrals to Prevent, a 6% increase in comparison with the previous year (6,406). Quarter 4 saw the highest number of referrals (2,005; 29%), whereas Quarter 2 saw the lowest number of referrals (1,381; 20%).

There was a 25% decrease in the number of referrals deemed suitable through a preliminary assessment to be discussed at a Channel panel compared with the previous year (1,113 down from 1,486). The proportion of referrals discussed at a Channel panel also decreased (16%, down from 23% in the previous year).

In the year ending 31 March 2023, 645 referrals were adopted as a Channel case, 159 fewer cases compared with the 804 referrals adopted as a case in the previous year. The proportion of referrals adopted as a Channel case decreased (9% this year versus 13% in the previous year), dropping below 10% for the first time since 2018/19. However, the proportion of referrals discussed at a Channel panel that went on to be adopted as a Channel case this year (645 of 1,113; 58%) increased when compared with last year (804 of 1,486; 54%).

Figure 3: Proportion of Prevent referrals adopted as a Channel case, years ending 31 March 2016 to 2023

Source: Home Office, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, England and Wales, April 2022 to March 2023, Table 1.

Notes:

  1. Those adopted as a Channel case are also discussed at a Channel panel but the numbers are shown separately here.

3. Demographics

This section reports statistics on the individuals referred to Prevent due to concerns about their susceptibility to radicalisation. Demographics (including age and gender) are reported according to their progression through Prevent as well as the type of concern raised.

3.1 Age

In the year ending 31 March 2023, individuals aged 15 to 20 accounted for the largest proportion of the 6,796 referrals to Prevent (2,203; 32%) where age was known (Figure 4). This is in line with the previous year where (1,902; 30%) of referrals where age was known were in the 15 to 20 age group. Individuals aged 14 years and under accounted for the second largest proportion of referrals (2,119; 31%) where age was known, followed by individuals aged 21 to 30 (975; 14%).

As the individuals moved through the programme in the year ending 31 March 2023, those aged 14 years and under accounted for a slightly larger proportion of both those discussed at a Channel Panel (361; 32%) and those adopted as a Channel case (241; 37%). This continues the trend from last year, and also marks a slight change in comparison with data prior to 2021/22, where individuals aged 15 to 20 have consistently accounted for the most referrals, discussions at Channel panel and Channel cases.

Figure 4: Age group from youngest to oldest of those referred, discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case, year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, England and Wales, April 2022 to March 2023, Table 4.

3.2 Age by sector of referral

The median age is the age of the middle person, when sorted from youngest to oldest. Using the median provides a good indication of the age of the ‘typical’ person referred by each sector. The median age of all referrals was 16 years.

Reflecting the demographic composition within different sectors, the median age for referrals for individuals from the Education sector was 14 years of age, the same as reported in the previous statistical release. Referrals from the Community and HMPPS had the oldest median age (30 years).

3.3 Minors

This year, in response to public interest, Home Office analysts have included statistics to show the number of minors referred to Prevent, discussed at a Channel panel, and adopted as a Channel case. Table 1 below shows a breakdown for age groups aged 17 and under.

Table 1. Breakdown of referrals for individuals aged 17 and under for the reporting period 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Age Group Number of referrals Number discussed at Channel panel Number of adopted cases
0-10 256 36 19
11-15 2,628 457 298
16-17 889 162 101
Total 3,773 655 418

In the year ending 31 March 2023, where age is specified, over half of referrals (3,773; 56%) to Prevent were for individuals aged 17 and under. Those aged 17 and under accounted for the majority of referrals discussed at Channel panel (655; 59%) and adopted as a Channel case (418; 65%).

3.4 Gender

In this report, we refer to gender rather than sex of people. ‘Sex’ can be considered to refer to whether someone is male or female based on their physiology, with ‘gender’ representing a social construct or sense of self that takes a wider range of forms. However, it is likely that recording includes a mixture of physiological and personal identity.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, of the 6,801 referrals where gender was specified, the majority were for males (6,125; 90%). Males also accounted for the majority of the referrals discussed at a Channel panel (1,017 of 1,113; 91%) and those adopted as a Channel case (595 of 645; 92%).

The proportion of males at each stage of the Prevent programme has been increasing since the year ending 31 March 2016, the earliest period for which comparable data are available. However, the largest increase has been in the proportion of males adopted as a Channel case. In the year ending 31 March 2016, 85% (321 of 378) of referrals adopted as a Channel case were for males, this compares with 92% (595 of 645) in the year ending March 2023.

4. Type of concern

The type of concern presented is based upon information provided by the referrer. For cases that progress further into the programme, officers may update this based upon new information that comes to light as they gather information to help them provide support tailored to the individual’s need. Therefore, the statistics regarding the type of concern raised are likely to include a mix of the type of concern raised by the original referrer and the type of concern that the Channel Case Officers believe the individual is presenting. The type of concern is also recorded differently within the 2 data recording systems used to manage Prevent referrals (PCMT) and subsequent Channel cases (CMIS).

In last year’s publication, Home Office analysts amended the way in which a referral’s type of concern is presented. The same approach continues this year and the sub-categories that were aggregated into ‘Mixed, unstable and unclear’ in previous years are reported directly to provide a more granular view of types of concern. More detail on this change can be found in the user guide.

4.1 Referrals by the type of concern

In the year ending 31 March 2023, of the 6,809 referrals to Prevent where the type of concern is specified, 37% (2,505) were for individuals with `vulnerability present but no ideology or CT risk’. Referrals due to Extreme Right-Wing concerns (1,310; 19%) accounted for the second highest proportion, followed by referrals regarding conflicted ideology (1,214; 18%). 11% (781) of referrals were due to concerns regarding Islamist ideology.

Referrals for individuals with a ‘vulnerability present but no ideology or CT risk’ have increased year-on-year since year ending 31 March 2020, when it first became available as a type of concern category on PCMT. This type of concern accounted for 25% (1,594 of 6,174) of referrals in 2019/20, 33% (1,600 of 4,876) of referrals in 2020/21, 33% (2,127 of 6,406) of referrals in 2021/22, and 37% (2,505 of 6,809) of referrals this year.

There was one more referral made for Extreme Right-Wing concerns this year (1,310) when compared to last year (1,309). However, as total referrals have increased this means those made due to Extreme Right-Wing concerns have slightly decreased as a proportion of overall referrals (19% versus 20%). For the third year running, the number of referrals for Extreme Right-Wing concerns is greater than Islamist referrals.

There were 246 fewer referrals (781) for Islamist concerns this year when compared to last year (1,027). With an increase in overall referrals, Islamist concerns once again account for a reduced proportion of all referrals (11%) when compared with last year (16%) and (22%) in 2020/21. The number of referrals for this type of concern has decreased by 79% since the year ending March 2017 (3,706 referrals).

There were 112 referrals (2%) related to ‘Other’ types of concerns. Although numbers were comparatively low, this includes concerns regarding international radicalisation groups, left-wing radicalisation and Northern Ireland-related extremism, for example.

Figure 5: Prevent referrals by type of concern, years ending March 2017 to 2023

Source: Home Office, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, England and Wales, April 2022 to March 2023, Table 6.

A total of 645 referrals were adopted as a Channel case, of which 644 had the type of concern specified on the data system. For the fifth consecutive year, there were more adopted cases for individuals referred for concerns related to Extreme Right-Wing radicalisation (296; 46%) compared to individuals with concerns related to Islamist radicalisation (115;18%). The number of referrals adopted as a Channel case for concerns related to Extreme Right-Wing radicalisation (296) decreased by 13% compared with the previous year (339), halting an upward trend which had been observed since the year ending 31 March 2017. However, as a proportion of total referrals adopted as a Channel case, referrals due to concerns relating to Extreme Right-Wing radicalisation (296; 46%) increased compared with the previous year (339, 42%).

The number of referrals adopted as a Channel case for Islamist radicalisation (115; 18% ) concerns decreased by 25% compared with the previous year (156). Since the year ending 31 March 2017, the number of referrals adopted as a Channel case following a referral for Islamist concerns has decreased by 39% (187). As a proportion of total referrals adopted as a Channel case, referrals for Islamist concerns (115; 18%) slightly decreased compared with the previous year (156; 19%).

Individuals with conflicted concerns accounted for 16% (103) of referrals that were adopted as a Channel case. There were 69 referrals adopted as a Channel case for individuals with a ‘vulnerability present but no CT risk or ideology’ (11%), 18 for school massacre concerns (3%) and 13 for incel-related concerns (2%).

4.2 Proportions of adoption as a case by type of concern

Overall, the proportion of referrals discussed at a Channel panel being subsequently adopted as a case increased from the previous year; 58% (645 of 1,113) of all referrals discussed went on to be adopted in the year ending March 2023.

Referrals discussed at a Channel panel for individuals with ‘Other’ concerns were adopted as a case at the highest rate (66%; 23 of 35). Referrals discussed at a Channel panel for individuals with School massacre ideology were adopted as a case at the second highest rate (64%; 18 of 28). 61% (296 of 484) of referrals discussed at a Channel panel for individuals with Extreme Right-Wing concerns went on to be adopted as a case; 52% (115 of 222) of those discussed at a Channel panel for Islamist concerns went on to be adopted as a case.

4.3 Type of concern by age

Where age was known, those aged between 15 to 20 accounted for the largest proportion of referrals in 5 of the 9 categories of the type of concern (Islamist, Conflicted, ‘vulnerability present, but no ideology or CT risk’, ‘No risk, vulnerability or ideology present’, Other). Those aged 14 years and under accounted for the largest proportion of referrals in 2 of 9 categories (Extreme Right-Wing, 35% and School Massacre, 55%), and those aged 21 to 30 accounted for the highest proportion of referrals for Incel concerns (38%; 26). Those aged 31 to 40 accounted for the highest proportion of referrals with ‘High CT risk, but no ideology present’ (40%; 2) – although only 5 referrals were associated with this type of concern.

4.4 Type of concern by gender

For all types of concern, the proportion of males referred, discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case was higher than females. Where gender was specified, males accounted for 94% (65 of 69) of referrals for Incel concerns, and 94% (1,233 of 1,307) of referrals for Extreme Right-Wing concerns. In comparison, 86% (668 of 779) of referrals for concerns related to Islamist radicalisation involved males.

Females accounted for a higher proportion of Islamist referrals than referrals for Extreme Right Wing concerns. 14% (108 of 779) of referrals with Islamist concerns were made for females where gender was specified; this is in line with the proportion of females with Islamist concerns adopted as a case (14%; 16 of 115). Whereas, females only accounted for 5% of referrals with Extreme Right-Wing concerns (69 of 1307), and accounted for only 3% of cases adopted with Extreme Right-Wing concerns (9 of 296).

This section reports regional trends in referrals for individuals due to concerns regarding their susceptibility to radicalisation. Geographic regions are reported according to their progression through the Prevent programme and the type of concern raised. The geographic regions presented are those covered by Regional Prevent Coordinators (RPCs) and therefore within this statistical collection, the North East also covers Yorkshire and the Humber.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, the region that received the highest number of referrals per million population was the North West (130.8; up from 102.2 last year). The North East region follows in second with 128.2 referrals per million population (down from 130.8 last year). The East region again had the lowest number of referrals per million population (80.5; up from 64.7 last year). The national average for referrals in the year ending 31 March 2023 is 114.4 per million population.

The region that had the highest number of referrals discussed at a Channel panel per million population was the North West (38.4). The North East region had the second highest number of referrals discussed at a Channel panel per million population (21.3), and the East is third (19.3).

The region that had the highest number of referrals adopted as a Channel case per million population was the North West (18.6), followed by the North East (14.9) and the East (12.8). The East region had the highest case adoption rate (16%), followed by the North West region (14%). The East Midlands had the lowest case adoption rate (5%)[footnote 2].

Please see Table 7 of the accompanying data tables for more detailed breakdowns.

Figure 6: Total number of referrals, those discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case by region, year ending 31 March 2023

Source: Home Office, Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent programme, England and Wales, April 2022 to March 2023, Table 7. Office for National Statistics, Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021.

6. Further information

The user guide provides further details on this release, including the strengths and limitations of the data and the quality assurance processes involved in the production of this release. It also includes a glossary of terms used throughout this release.

Forthcoming publications are pre-announced on the statistics release calendar.

Previous releases of these statistics can be found on the Prevent Programme statistics collection page.

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

6.2 Feedback and enquiries

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

Home Office responsible statistician: Rosanna Currenti

Press enquiries: pressoffice@homeoffice.gov.uk, Telephone: 020 7035 3535

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

  1. The sector that the individual is signposted to upon exiting the Prevent process may engage other statutory partners to appropriately address the concern for that individual. 

  2. Case adoption rate here refers to the proportion of referrals which go on to be adopted as a Channel case.