Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers have been in post for over (a) two and (b) five years in each region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of staff in post by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023.
Table 1: Band 4 Probation Officers in post by region and length of service1, as at 30 September 2023 (Full-time equivalent)
| Completed years of service | Percentage of total | |||
Region | 2+ years | 5+ years | Total | 2+ years | 5+ years |
Approved Premises – Midlands | 3 | 3 | 3 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - North East | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - North West | 4 | 4 | 4 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - South East and Eastern | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
Approved Premises - South West & Central | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 100% |
East Midlands Probation Service | 283 | 218 | 323 | 88% | 67% |
East of England Probation Service | 417 | 260 | 441 | 95% | 59% |
Greater Manchester Probation Service | 234 | 181 | 280 | 84% | 65% |
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Probation Service | 244 | 163 | 265 | 92% | 62% |
London Probation Service | 513 | 320 | 562 | 91% | 57% |
North East Probation Service | 288 | 184 | 314 | 92% | 59% |
North West Probation Service | 399 | 333 | 451 | 89% | 74% |
South Central Probation Service | 225 | 143 | 248 | 91% | 58% |
South West Probation Service | 337 | 228 | 348 | 97% | 66% |
Wales Probation Service | 343 | 268 | 376 | 91% | 71% |
West Midlands Probation Service | 480 | 343 | 507 | 95% | 68% |
Yorkshire & the Humber Probation Service | 484 | 329 | 525 | 92% | 63% |
Probation Officers not in Probation Service | 24 | 20 | 24 | 98% | 81% |
Total | 4,281 | 3,000 | 4,675 | 92% | 64% |
1: The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.
Note:
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 340 on Probation Service: Staff, how many and what proportion of probation officers have workloads that are above 100% on the Workload Management Tool in each region.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Probation Service currently uses the Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) as an indicator and as one of several sources of information to support management of workloads. There are, however, significant limitations with using the WMT to monitor workload due to its daily fluctuation, capacity for human error and the challenges in accounting for periods of leave and case support. The WMT is therefore only one element of probation capacity and should be considered alongside the situational context and other reporting routes.
This table shows by region the proportion of POs who are over 100% (as of the 22 November 2023) on the WMT. To note, the WMT is not considered a reliable estimate of total staff.
Region | Total Probation Officers | Number of Probation Officers over 100% |
National | 3,338 | 2,591 |
East Midlands | 217 | 165 |
East of England | 279 | 236 |
Greater Manchester | 211 | 180 |
Kent Surrey Sussex | 176 | 133 |
London | 454 | 375 |
North East Region | 223 | 163 |
North West Region | 335 | 253 |
South Central | 176 | 141 |
South West | 234 | 192 |
Wales | 272 | 177 |
West Midlands Region | 367 | 267 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 394 | 309 |
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year to deliver more robust supervision, recruit thousands more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer. The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for its staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position. Positively, the Probation Service leaving rate was 9.9% in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, a decrease from the previous 12 months.
The Probation Service saw an increase of 2,170 FTE or 11.8% (Probation Service grades) since September 2022. There has been an increase across all Probation Service grades such Senior Probation Officer (13.0%), Probation Officers (6.9%), Other Band 4-6 (16.0%) and in particular Other Bands 1 to 3 staff saw an increase of 1,260 FTE staff (26.4%), following centrally run recruitment for key grades supporting frontline staff. We have accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) to increase staffing levels, particularly in Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) with the most significant staffing challenges.There were 2,185 staff, equivalent to 2,164 FTE, as at 30 September 2023 undertaking the PQiP training, which we anticipate will start to directly impact on the reduction of caseloads as they qualify.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 339 on Probation Service, what the staffing underspend was in the Probation Service in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
In the period between November 2021 and October 2023, the total monthly expenditure for Probation Service staffing has increased from £60.3m to £72.4m. The increase in expenditure reflects the continued investment in staffing during the past 24 months and impact of the multiyear pay deal. In July 2023, expenditure exceeded budget due to the cost-of-living payment.
The table below sets out the financial variances for staff related costs in the Probation Service between November 2021 and October 2023.
Month | Budget (£m) | Actual Expenditure (£m) | Variance (£m) |
Nov-21 | 62.3 | 60.3 | 2.0 |
Dec-21 | 62.3 | 61.3 | 0.9 |
Jan-22 | 63.6 | 59.4 | 4.2 |
Feb-22 | 63.6 | 58.4 | 5.2 |
Mar-22 | 63.1 | 72.9 | -9.7 |
Apr-22 | 63.5 | 64.0 | -0.5 |
May-22 | 63.5 | 64.1 | -0.6 |
Jun-22 | 63.5 | 65.0 | -1.5 |
Jul-22 | 64.4 | 66.8 | -2.4 |
Aug-22 | 66.3 | 64.2 | 2.0 |
Sep-22 | 66.5 | 61.3 | 5.2 |
Oct-22 | 71.2 | 60.3 | 10.9 |
Nov-22 | 71.2 | 68.6 | 2.6 |
Dec-22 | 71.2 | 67.8 | 3.4 |
Jan-23 | 71.3 | 69.0 | 2.4 |
Feb-23 | 71.0 | 67.0 | 4.0 |
Mar-23 | 71.0 | 71.4 | -0.4 |
Apr-23 | 71.7 | 73.1 | -1.5 |
May-23 | 71.7 | 70.3 | 1.3 |
Jun-23 | 71.7 | 70.7 | 1.0 |
Jul-23 | 69.1 | 105.0 | -35.9 |
Aug-23 | 71.1 | 71.8 | -0.8 |
Sep-23 | 71.1 | 71.8 | -0.7 |
Oct-23 | 74.8 | 72.4 | 2.4 |
Total | 1,630.7 | 1,637.2 | -6.6 |
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers who left service in the past year had been in post for less than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of leavers by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023. Data for the number and proportion of Probation Officers who left the department in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, by length of service, can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Probation Officer leavers by length of service, for those who left the department in the 12 months to 30 September 2023 (headcount)
| Completed years of service and percentage of total | ||||||||
| Less than 1 year | Less than 2 years | Less than 3 years | Less than 4 years | Less than 5 years | Less than 6 years | Less than 7 years | Less than 8 years | Total |
Headcount | 3 | 15 | 69 | 103 | 147 | 167 | 182 | 188 | 372 |
Percentage of total | 1% | 4% | 19% | 28% | 40% | 45% | 49% | 51% | 100% |
Notes:
1. Length of service in HMPPS is calculated from the most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.
2. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However, the database itself is dynamic and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data is unlikely to be precisely accurate.
3. The length of service bands have been grouped so that the data presented is cumulative in nature (so those with less than 1 year of service will be counted in all columns).
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for which Wales has a proportionally higher prison population per 100,000 than England.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Prison capacity and population movements are managed nationally across England and Wales. There are over 5,500 prison places in Wales including a 2,000 place prison, HMP Berwyn, which opened in 2017. Geographically HMP Berwyn is near to the Northwest of England and holds a significant number of prisoners sentenced by courts in that region as well as prisoners originating in Wales.
UK nationals have a nationality of British. While holding an individual close to their home is an important consideration in the placement of prisoners, HMPPS does not identify or record prisoners as English or Welsh. Someone with an address in England may consider themselves to be Welsh, while someone with an address in Wales may not.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving (a) probation services and (b) youth justice to Wales.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Government has considered the question of the devolution of justice to Wales and is clear that it is in the interests of the people of Wales for justice to remain a reserved matter, including in respect of probation services and youth justice.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make a comparative assessment of the use of (a) imprisonment and (b) community-based alternatives by (i) Welsh and (ii) European courts.
Answered by Mike Freer
Criminal justice systems in other countries, including Europe, vary. Comparing the rates of imprisonment and community-based alternatives by Welsh courts compared to European equivalents would be unlikely to be directly comparable.
When developing criminal justice policy, the Ministry of Justice considers international examples and practice where appropriate.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of probation officers that have workloads that are too high in each region.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
HMIP report Caseloads, Workloads and Staffing Levels in Probation Services, March 2021 is publicly available. This indicates a recommendation that caseloads should not exceed 50.
Region by region analysis is shown below. As of 8th November 2023, 98% of Probation Officers hold less than 50 cases.
Region | Total number of Band 4 Probation Officers | No. of Band 4 Probation Officers with under 50 cases (= | % of Probation Officers with under 50 cases (= | No. of Probation Officers with over 50 cases (>50) | % of Probation Officers with over 50 cases (>50) |
East Midlands Region | 217 | 215 | 99.08 | 2 | 0.92 |
East of England | 277 | 260 | 93.86 | 17 | 6.14 |
Greater Manchester | 213 | 213 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Kent Surrey Sussex Region | 177 | 172 | 97.18 | 5 | 2.82 |
London | 459 | 436 | 94.99 | 23 | 5.01 |
North East Region | 225 | 225 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
North West Region | 335 | 335 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
South Central | 176 | 174 | 98.86 | 2 | 1.14 |
South West | 233 | 232 | 99.57 | 1 | 0.43 |
Wales | 275 | 275 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
West Midlands Region | 371 | 370 | 99.73 | 1 | 0.27 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 394 | 391 | 99.24 | 3 | 0.76 |
Grand Total | 3352 | 3298 | 98.39 | 54 | 1.61 |
Individual officers will hold a mixture of cases corresponding to their available capacity at the time, their experience and specific expertise. The Probation Service is committed to providing a quality service in order to achieve its mission of protecting the public, supporting victims and reducing reoffending.
We have implemented a Prioritisation Framework to support demand management on priority areas of delivery where there are workload and staffing challenges. We continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions to help bolster the number of applications and improve time to hire for key operational roles. We have also offered financial support to incentivise staff to move permanently to areas with the most significant staffing challenges.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Question 30 of the oral evidence given by the Minister for Prisons and Probation to the Justice Committee on 24 October 2023, HC 1929, what estimate he has made of staffing underspends in the Probation Service.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
We are not forecasting a staffing underspend in the Probation Service for this financial year.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the ratio of staff to prisoners in prisons in Wales was (a) in each of the last three years and (b) for the most recent period in which data is available by prison.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.