The Hope and Fulfilment Survey

This report presents the Hope and Fulfilment Survey (HAFS), developed as part of the Prison Reform Trust’s Building Futures programme. It aims to understand how people serving long prison sentences experience hope and fulfilment, and to create a way to track this over time.

The study involved 190 prisoners across 57 UK prisons, most serving long or life sentences. Data were collected between January and May 2025 using a mix of survey responses and written reflections, with analysis used to explore what shapes hope and fulfilment.

The findings show that relationships (especially with family), access to meaningful activities (such as education and work), and supportive staff are key to maintaining hope. In contrast, limited opportunities to progress, inconsistent support, and indeterminate sentences (such as IPP) reduce hope.

The analysis identified three core components of hope and fulfilment: making meaningful progress, believing in a future, and having a sense of personal control. Together, these findings underscore the importance of relationships, opportunity, and dignity in shaping prisoners’ wellbeing and rehabilitation.

The report calls for further validation of the HAFS to strengthen its further and support wider adoption, setting out a clear role for the survey in helping HM Prison and Probation Service and HM Inspectorate of Prisons monitor prisoner experiences and inform policy and practice. More broadly, the findings demonstrate that fostering hope and fulfilment is central to improving wellbeing, supporting rehabilitation, and enabling successful reintegration after release.