Ministry of Justice: Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD)
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-03)

Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) is a government data-linking programme which aims to improve the connectedness of government data in England and Wales.

The BOLD programme

Government is responsible for supporting people with multiple complex needs such as those who are homeless, victims of crime, and offenders. Often this is difficult because information about the challenges those individuals face is held across different government departments and administrations and not frequently shared. Services for these vulnerable people are often provided by separate organisations and, because data is not regularly shared, these organisations cannot access sufficient information about what interventions work.

The Ministry of Justice led BOLD programme has been created to improve the support that people with complex needs receive by linking and improving the government data held on them in a safe and secure way. BOLD has so far focused on reducing homelessness, supporting victims of crime, reducing substance misuse, and reducing reoffending.

Data used in the programme

The programme uses strictly de-identified data from the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Public Heath Wales, Department for Education, police forces, and the Welsh Government, linking this data to improve the services that each of these organisations provide. Our partnership and programme builds on learning from other initiatives such as Administrative Data Research (ADR) UK. BOLD has produced a number of important statistical publications based off linked datasets and has also brought datasets together to create operational tools. In this way, BOLD has helped improve nationwide services and support vulnerable people.

BOLD currently consists of 4 data and analysis pilot projects, each aiming to provide better data and evidence to support policy and the design of more effective services to people with multiple complex needs.

Reducing homelessness

We know that those who are homeless or sleeping rough often have a variety of support needs, most commonly mental and physical-health needs, drug or alcohol dependency and offending histories. The Homelessness Pilot project aims to better understand why some people repeatedly become homeless, which services are most effective in preventing prison leavers from becoming homeless (and thereby decreasing their chances of reoffending), and what role drug treatment services can play in preventing homelessness.

One of the major challenges to improving the nationwide provision of homelessness support is the lack of data. This means there is little evidence on which interventions are most likely to improve people’s chances of moving into secure accommodation or finding employment. This data is often held by local authorities, but there are often legal and logistical challenges around sharing this data. The BOLD Homelessness pilot team have produced a report examining the barriers that local councils face when sharing data. You can access this report here: Barriers to data sharing between MHCLG and local councils (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils) Barriers to data sharing between MHCLG and local councils (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils)

The pilot has also now published a report on Repeat Homelessness (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-outcomes-through-linked-data-repeat-homelessness-report/better-outcomes-through-linked-data-repeat-homelessness-report#executive-summary). The report is a statistical analysis of repeat homelessness, aiming to help in identifying and understanding those who have become repeatedly homeless. The report required creation of a linked data asset, bringing together the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) and personal information gathered from local authorities. Through this linked data, MHCLG analysts were able to identify substantially more households that experienced repeat homelessness than the original data, alongside key characteristics such as demographics, additional support needs and time spent in temporary accommodation.

Supporting victims of crime

36% of Victims report dissatisfaction with the way the Criminal Justice System (CJS) handled their case, with 32% of reported criminal cases dropped due to victims disengaging from an investigation or prosecution, with this figure having risen every year since 2014. The Victim Pathways Pilot project aims to better understand how government and third sector services can most effectively support victims of crime to cope and recover and to confidently seek justice. The ultimate goal is to use this evidence to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice system and support them to achieve a positive justice outcome.

The victims pilot team produced a report called: An adult-survivors journey through a sexual violence support service in Essex’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-victim-survivors-journey-through-a-sexual-violence-support-service-in-essex). This report examines data held by rape support services: looking into the victim-survivor journey, whether it is possible to assess the services victim-survivors need, and the plausibility of using this data to understand why victim-survivors often disengage from the support service.

Reducing substance misuse

In 2024, the costs of alcohol harm to society was estimated at £27.44 billion for England, and £800 million for Wales each year, The illicit drugs trade costs society over £19 billion a year (based on a 2019 report) and drug deaths remain high. Those without stable accommodation or employment support can struggle to access and stay in treatment. The Substance Misuse Pilot project aims to better understand what factors drive successful rehabilitations from addiction for particular groups, such as prison leavers or rough sleepers. The pilot team is exploring how it can use data and evidence to improve life outcomes for people receiving substance abuse treatment, through improving the assessment of additional needs where individuals come into contact with any government service. As part of this pilot, Welsh Government aim to ensure that challenges unique to Wales are also addressed.

The pilot has now published the ‘Pathways between probation and addiction treatment in England (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pathways-between-probation-and-addiction-treatment-in-england)’ report, linking community sentence treatment requirements (alcohol and drug rehabilitation) with treatment services. This report is a joint experimental statistics publication from the Ministry of Justice and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care. The report focuses on offenders sentenced to an alcohol treatment requirement or a drug rehabilitation requirement. It aimed to assess if the pathways between probation and specialist alcohol and drug treatment services are operating effectively, and to describe the treatment outcomes.

The pilot has supported the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH (https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/ncish/about/)), based at the University of Manchester, to investigate the factors associated with suicide by people accessing drug and alcohol treatment services. Their report Suicide by people in contact with drug and alcohol services: a national study 2021 to 2022 (https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/ncish/reports/suicide-by-people-in-contact-with-drug-and-alcohol-services/) is now available. The pilot team was responsible for linking data on suicides with the English National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/confidentiality-guidance-for-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-providers-and-clients). The team also determined a control group who had been in contact with drug and alcohol services in the previous year but did not die. NCISH sought serious incident reports into the deaths conducted by the drug and alcohol treatment services at the time of the suicide. Similar work was conducted by Digital Health and Care Wales (https://dhcw.nhs.wales/) to link with the Welsh National Database for Substance Misuse (https://dhcw.nhs.wales/information-services/information-delivery/substance-misuse/#:~:text=The%20Welsh%20National%20Database%20for%20Substance%20Misuse%20(WNDSM)%20provides%20data,funded%20by%20the%20Welsh%20Government.). Taken together, the report found that 8% of the 5,720 deaths by suicide registered in England and Wales between 1st October 2021 and 30th September 2022 had accessed drug or alcohol treatment in the 12 months prior to death. In England, this represents 119.2 deaths registered per 100,000 in treatment, more than 10 times that of the general population (10.1 per 100,000). The study also reports clinical risk factors that may inform suicide prevention and strategies and makes recommendations for improving safety for people under the care of treatment services.

A second report has now been published by the pilot looking into whether there is an association between drug or alcohol dependence and the risk of dying by or committing homicide Drug and alcohol treatment for victims and suspects of homicide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-for-victims-and-suspects-of-homicide) This report contains official statistics under development which provide for the first time, linking the Homicide Index dataset with specialist addiction treatment services database (NDTMS) of the Homicide Office and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The data linkage explores the use of substance misuse services by victims and suspects of homicide. We identified 3% of victims and 11% of suspects who were in the homicide index as having a treatment record in NDTMS.

Probation and reducing reoffending

We know that reoffending costs society approximately £22.7 billion per year (based on a 2019 report, adjusted to 24/25 prices). Tackling reoffending is crucial to reducing crime, reducing demand on prison and probation services and protecting the public. Our approach to tackling this issue is guided by what research to-date suggests is important in helping an individual turn their back on crime, including accommodation, employment and education, substance misuse treatment and support to develop their personal skills and behaviours. The BOLD Probation and Reducing Reoffending workstream is supporting these aims by linking data held across and beyond government to build analysis and produce services which can support evidence-based decisions to reduce reoffending.

By linking Ministry of Justice prison and probation data with HMRC benefits records, and using natural language processing, the Reducing Reoffending pilot published first-of-its-kind research on the estimates of children with a parent in prison. This research estimated that over the course of a year, around 193,000 children are affected by a parent being in, or going to, prison. Estimates of children with a parent in prison (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/estimates-of-children-with-a-parent-in-prison%20-%20GOV.UK)

The Reducing Reoffending workstream has also published new research into criminogenic needs of prolific offenders linking criminal courts and national police data with offender assessment data for England and Wales. It focuses on examining key differences in relation to the type, prevalence and severity of criminogenic needs between prolific offenders and non-prolific offenders and has fed into evidence for the Independent Sentencing Review. Criminogenic needs of prolific offenders - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminogenic-needs-of-prolific-offenders)

We have also linked prison education data for two specific groups of prison leavers with other sources including offender assessment data and National Pupil Database (NPD) data from the Ministry of Justice-Department for Education data share. This report provides additional insight into the educational needs and experiences of prisoners; who participates in prison education; and the courses they undertake: Prison education in England: Educational background and needs - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-education-in-england-educational-background-and-needs)

Another product from this pilot is the Case Information Dashboard (CID): a prototype digital dashboard that brings together information from probation, prisons and police. The dashboard provides probation practitioners with an integrated view of individual data, thereby facilitating timely and effective decision-making.

Privacy is at the heart of BOLD’s design and ethos

BOLD is about using data and evidence to design better services for people, but given the volume, sensitivity and complexity of the data collected by government, BOLD takes its responsibilities to proportionately and ethically handle this data very seriously, and commits itself to robust ethical standards. Find more information on how BOLD uses and keeps data safe, and how we are engaging the public to build trust in the document at the top of this page.

Engaging the public

Public trust and engagement are critical for BOLD, and we committed to undertake extensive public engagement with those individuals whose data are being shared, and with the wider public.

BOLD partnered with the Centre for Data Ethics & Innovation (CDEI), and the research company Britain Thinks, to undertake extensive engagement with affected groups, trusted intermediaries, and the general public. This included focus groups with the four cohorts of people BOLD is focused on (Victims, Offenders, Substance Misusers, and those experiencing Homelessness). The results of this exercise, and what we have learnt from listening to the public, will tangibly inform the design of the BOLD programme and has been published by the CDEI (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cdei-carries-out-public-engagement-on-government-data-linking-with-groups-with-complex-needs).

Further information, including analytical publications will be published on this page as they become available. A list of the datasets that BOLD is currently using can be found in the document at the top of this page, and will be regularly updated as the programme progresses.

Publications

17/04/2025 The interplay between children looked after and substance misuse: Scoping the use of administrative data (https://adrwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BOLD-The-interplay-between-CLA-and-substance-misuse.pdf), produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh Version (https://adrwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BOLD-The-interplay-between-CLA-and-substance-misuse_CY.pdf).

17/04/2025 Scoping and evaluation of synthetic data to enhance access to data (https://adrwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BOLD-synthetic-data.pdf) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh Version (https://adrwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/BOLD-synthetic-data_CY.pdf).

31/03/25 The interplay between children looked after and substance misuse in Wales: scoping the use of administrative data (https://www.gov.wales/children-looked-after-and-substance-misuse-risk), produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh Version (https://www.llyw.cymru/y-cydadwaith-rhwng-plant-syn-derbyn-gofal-chamddefnyddio-sylweddau-cyhoeddiad).

26/03/2025 DATA EXPLAINED: Welsh National Database for Substance Misuse (WNDSM) data quality audit and considerations (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/data-explained-welsh-national-database-for-substance-misuse-wndsm-data-quality-audit-and-considerations/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/egluror-data-archwiliad-ac-ystyriaethau-ansawdd-data-cronfa-ddata-genedlaethol-cymru-ar-gamddefnyddio-sylweddau-wndsm/)

26/03/2025 Substance misuse, health service contact and risk of mortality: A data linkage study in Wales (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/substance-misuse-health-service-contact-and-risk-of-mortality-a-data-linkage-study-in-wales/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/camddefnyddio-sylweddau-cyswllt-ar-gwasanaeth-iechyd-ar-risg-o-farwolaeth-astudiaeth-cysylltu-data-yng-nghymru/)

26/03/2025 Long-term outcomes of people treated for substance misuse in Wales - A data linkage study (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/long-term-outcomes-of-people-treated-for-substance-misuse-in-wales-a-data-linkage-study/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/canlyniadau-hirdymor-pobl-syn-cael-eu-trin-am-gamddefnyddio-sylweddau-yng-nghymru-astudiaeth-cysylltu-data/)

26/03/2025 Investigating the association between adult substance misuse and health and criminal justice outcomes of children in the household (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/investigating-the-association-between-adult-substance-misuse-and-health-and-criminal-justice-outcomes-of-children-in-the-household/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/ymchwilio-ir-cysylltiad-rhwng-oedolion-syn-camddefnyddio-sylweddau-a-chanlyniadau-iechyd-a-chyfiawnder-troseddol-plant-ar-yr-aelwyd/)

26/03/2025 Maternal substance misuse-related foetal anomalies: A data linkage study in Wales (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/maternal-substance-misuse-related-foetal-anomalies-a-data-linkage-study-in-wales/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/anomaleddaur-ffoetws-syn-gysylltiedig-a-chamddefnydd-y-fam-o-sylweddau-astudiaeth-cyswllt-data-yng-nghymru/)

26/03/2025 Potential opportunities to reduce the escalation of substance misuse: A retrospective observational data linkage study in Wales (https://phw.nhs.wales/publications/publications1/potential-opportunities-to-reduce-the-escalation-of-substance-misuse-a-retrospective-observational-data-linkage-study-in-wales/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank. Welsh version (https://icc.gig.cymru/cyhoeddiadau/cyhoeddiadau/cyfleoedd-posibl-i-leihaur-cynnydd-yn-y-camddefnydd-o-sylweddau-astudiaeth-gyswllt-data-arsylwadol-ol-weithredol-yng-nghymru/)

25/02/2025 Homelessness and substance misuse: impact on secondary healthcare in Wales (https://www.gov.wales/homelessness-and-substance-misuse-impact-secondary-healthcare-wales) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank.

25/02/2025 BOLD data insight publication aimed at the general public: homelessness and substance misuse: impact on secondary healthcare in Wales (https://adrwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/BOLD-Substance-misuse-and-homelessness.pdf) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank.

25/02/2025 A video explainer: Study explores substance misuse, homelessness and health inequalities - ADR Wales (https://adrwales.org/study-explores-substance-misuse-homelessness-and-health-inequalities/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse Wales Pilot, Public Health Wales, Administrative Data Research Wales, SAIL Databank.

25/02/2025: Repeat homelessness report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-outcomes-through-linked-data-repeat-homelessness-report/better-outcomes-through-linked-data-repeat-homelessness-report) produced by BOLD Homelessness Pilot (MHCLG)

19/09/2024: An adult victim-survivor’s journey through a sexual violence support service in Essex (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-victim-survivors-journey-through-a-sexual-violence-support-service-in-essex), produced by BOLD Victims Pathway Pilot (MOJ).

18/07/2024: Estimates of Children with a parent in prison (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/estimates-of-children-with-a-parent-in-prison) produced by BOLD Reducing Reoffending Pilot (MOJ).

30/03/2024: Pathways between probation and addiction treatment in England (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pathways-between-probation-and-addiction-treatment-in-england) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse England Pilot (DHSC), Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).

28/03/2024: Drug and alcohol treatment for victims and suspects of homicide: report (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-for-victims-and-suspects-of-homicide/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-for-victims-and-suspects-of-homicide-report) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse England Pilot (DHSC), Home Office (HO), Office for Health Improvement (OHID).

01/02/2024: Suicide by people in contact with drug and alcohol services: a national study 2021 to 2022 (https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/ncish/reports/suicide-by-people-in-contact-with-drug-and-alcohol-services/) produced by BOLD Substance Misuse England Pilot (DHSC), University of Manchester, National Confidential Enquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH).

14/08/2023: Barriers to data sharing between DLUHC and local councils (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils/barriers-to-data-sharing-between-dluhc-and-local-councils) produced by BOLD Homelessness Pilot (MHCLG), Softwire Ltd.

23/03/2023: Improving lives through linked data: Views from groups with complex needs (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cdei-carries-out-public-engagement-on-government-data-linking-with-groups-with-complex-needs) produced by Central BOLD team (MOJ), Responsible Technology Adoption Unit (RTA), Thinks Insight & Strategy.