Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2022 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in the probation service.

[The Minister for Crime and Policing (Kit Malthouse)]

The probation service is committed to increasing recruitment to fill probation officer vacancies. The adequacy of staffing levels is monitored on an ongoing basis through operational management and plans around recruitment and retention.

[Chris Evans]

I recently spoke to a probation officer who is off work due to stress. They told me:

“We are losing no end of experienced officers and management doesn’t seem to care.”

With record levels of staff leaving the service and overworked officers fearful that any wrong decision could lead to tragedy, what specific actions will the Minister take to improve working conditions for probation officers?

[Kit Malthouse]

Although, obviously, people do leave the probation service from time to time, I hope the hon. Gentleman recognises the very vigorous recruitment campaign over the past three years. We have taken on: 1,007 new recruits in 2020-21; 1,518 in 2021-22; and 1,500 more this year. However, he is right that we need to work hard to make sure that we retain staff as well. There is a variety of strategies that we can put in place to make sure that that is the case, not least looking at the workload, which is often a cause of stress and strain. I am pleased to say that the latest numbers tell me that only 4% of probation officers have a workload above the recommended maximum, and there are obviously reasons why that may be the case. Having said that, there is, obviously, much more that we can do, and one of those things is to agree a productive and helpful pay settlement. We are in conversation with the unions and, indeed, with colleagues in the Treasury about reaching a conclusion on those discussions soon.