30 April 2026 –
The Ministry of Justice’s Justice Data Lab (JDL) has today published a report following an analysis of LandWorks participants. LandWorks made an application to the JDL last year for an independent analysis to be undertaken of its impact on reoffending.
The JDL was set up precisely to allow not just government projects but also projects run by charities and other organisations gain access to detailed analysis of their impact on reoffending.
The headline from the report on LandWorks is clear. In JDL’s words, “This analysis provides evidence that support from LandWorks decreases the number of proven reoffenders during a one-year period” and “The overall results show that men who participated in LandWorks were less likely to reoffend than those who did not take part. This result is statistically significant.”
Overall, the report showed there had been an 8-point or 38% in reduction in the reoffending rate compared to a comparison group constructed for the analysis. By JDL standards this is a very positive result. It is notoriously hard to get a clearly positive result following a JDL analysis, not least because of the rigorous methodology they use that sets a very high bar. Only around 1 in 4 of the 300 plus reports that have been published by JDL have resulted in a definite decrease in reoffending of any level being identified. And of the reports on projects that have worked with people across prison, community and through the gate settings like LandWorks, there has only been 1 other report to do so. And by JDL standards, an 8-point / 38% reduction is at the higher end of results that have ever been achieved.
The analysis was based on 90 participants who had started (although not necessarily completed) a placement at LandWorks between 2013 to 2023. While we submitted details of almost 160 people for the analysis, for a number of not uncommon reasons, JDL was only able to use around 55%. It was not therefore an analysis of all people who have been through LandWorks.
The Ministry of Justice has published an official response from LandWorks alongside the JDL report which can be read here. Overall, we believe this is a very positive result and an important addition to the wide range of evidence that shows that the LandWorks model – combining purposeful activity and highly personalised support delivered in a positive environment and over sustained periods – is making a real difference.