Moving Forward Making Changes programme data: FOI release

Information requested

How many people have participated in Moving Forward 2 Change/Moving Forward Making Changes (broken down by year and site)

How many times have each participant been required to re-attend the programme because of reoffending?

Response

Participation Rates

The Moving Forward: Making Changes (MF:MC) programme is in the process of being phased out as it has been redeveloped as Moving Forward 2 Change (MF2C) to reflect current research, practice evidence, and findings from the earlier evaluation. MF2C is designed for consistent delivery across settings and aims to reduce the risk of sexual offending. Data relating to the Moving Forward: Making Changes (MF:MC) programme is no longer held by the Scottish Government. However, an evaluation report published in 2018 is available via the Scottish Government website:

Acknowledgements - Moving Forward Making Changes: evaluation of a group-based treatment for sex offenders - gov.scot

A pilot of MF2C was conducted between 2022 and 2023 across five sites (HMP Edinburgh, HMP Barlinnie, North Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire, and Renfrewshire), with 21 individuals completing the programme. Due to the small sample size and COVID-19-related restrictions affecting group delivery, data was aggregated by year rather than site.

National rollout of MF2C began in 2024 and remains ongoing. Transition from MF:MC to MF2C is gradual due to programme length and structural differences requiring completion of existing MF:MC groups prior to implementation of MF2C.

In order to improve data collection issues that were seen with the previous programme, the Scottish Government has undertaken changes to the IT system used in support of MF2C, with those IT changes rolled out in June 2026. This new system will enable practitioner-led data entry as part of routine delivery, reducing duplication of data entry for frontline staff. Data returns from local areas will now be being routinely submitted through the IT system allowing national data to be held on completion rates and a number of other key metrics in relation to the programme. Data is being collected and held locally but as the IT system has just been rolled out national participation and completion data is not yet available.

Re-attendance Due to Re-offending

The Scottish Government does not currently hold data on the number of individuals required to reattend the programme due to re-offending. Suitability for the programme is assessed by local areas on an individual basis. However, the importance of incorporating reconviction data into future evaluations is recognised and the data collection improvements, as set out above, will allow a feasibility study to be undertaken to better understand the impact of the programme on reoffending. Typically such analysis will require a number of years of data collection to establish a robust data set. In the interim, MF2C is currently undergoing independent accreditation through the Scottish Advisory Panel for Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR). If accredited by SAPOR that will provide an independent view on the robustness of the evidence base underpinning design, and SAPOR will require independent process and outcome evaluations to be conducted at three and five years respectively (once data sets are established), with findings published thereafter.

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