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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Snapshot 11

Intent to Supply (Class A Drug)

Bringing together relevant statistics and trends relating to sentencing

by Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Aug 2026

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: high level community order to a 16-year prison sentence1
  • Maximum sentence: life imprisonment
  • Convictions have almost doubled over the last 10 years
  • Convictions in 2025: 10,581
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Intent to Supply (Class A), 2021-2025

  • 70% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.2
  • A further 26% resulted in a Suspended Sentence Order.3

Figure 2: Sentences Imposed for Intent to Supply (Class A), 2021-2025

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for intent to supply a class A drug have been stable over the last 5 years.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Intent to Supply (Class A), 2025

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 2 to 4 years, accounting for almost 60% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Around 30% of prison sentences are over 4 years.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Intent to Supply (Class A), 2025

  • Female (n=702); Male (n=9,665)
  • In 2025, the custody rate for intent to supply a class A drug was higher for men (72%) than for women (40%).

These rates do not account for various factors that influence sentencing decisions, such as the offender’s criminal history and the seriousness of the specific offence. Additional research would be needed to determine whether gender affected the sentence imposed.

This Snapshot is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]

  1. Formal offence name: Production, supply and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug – Class A ↩︎
  2. Data source for all figures: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, published 30th of April. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025 ↩︎
  3. ‘Other sanctions’ include: discharges, fine, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎