Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many serious further offences were committed in each year since 2020-21.

Figures on the number of serious further offences committed (convictions) up to 2021/22 are published annually, which can be accessed at the following link. Serious_Further_Offences_bulletin_2023.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk). Figures for 2022/23 will be published in October 2024.

Figures are published based on the date of SFO notification (charge) received by HMPPS. The lag between the date of publication and the conviction figures is to allow time for most cases to complete the criminal justice process.

Figures for the number of serious further offence reviews completed by the probation Service are published annually, which can be accessed at the following link. Serious_Further_Offences_bulletin_2023.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk). The review figures are available by financial year up to 31 March 2023.

Serious further offences are incredibly rare, with fewer than 0.5% of offenders supervised by the Probation Service going on to commit serious further offences but each one is investigated fully so we can take action where necessary. We have also injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year into the Probation Service to deliver tougher supervision, reduce caseloads and recruit thousands more staff to keep the public safer.