Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prison officers, (b) probation officers, and (c) workers in her Department submitted their resignation in each of the past five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of prison and probation officers who have resigned is published each quarter in the “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication.
The latest data, which goes back to the year ending March 2019, is available in Table 14b of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b5c95fb56d8b0856c2fec9/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-dec-2024_final.ods.
The number of Ministry of Justice staff who have resigned each year is published as part of the Cabinet Office’s “Civil Service statistics” publication. The latest resignations data, for the year ending March 2024, is available in Table 42 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e1631138493bbcd79f4706/Statistical_tables_-_Civil_Service_Statistics_2024.ods.
Figures for previous years are available in earlier publications available here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of ringfencing funding for Buvidal for people released from prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, which includes the provision of Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine (LAIB), known under the brand name Buvidal. LAIB is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and for those who have been released from prison. It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice.
The Government has no current plans to ring-fence funding specifically for the provision of LAIB, and the Secretary of State for Justice has not held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of LAIB for people released from prison. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to working with health partners to support access to clinical interventions appropriate to individual needs, and MoJ and DHSC work closely to ensure that people leaving prison receive continuity of care. We have a range of interventions to prepare prison leavers to continue their recovery journey in the community, including Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide, who strengthen links between prisons, probation and treatment providers.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the availability of Buvidal for people released from prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, which includes the provision of Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine (LAIB), known under the brand name Buvidal. LAIB is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and for those who have been released from prison. It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice.
The Government has no current plans to ring-fence funding specifically for the provision of LAIB, and the Secretary of State for Justice has not held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of LAIB for people released from prison. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to working with health partners to support access to clinical interventions appropriate to individual needs, and MoJ and DHSC work closely to ensure that people leaving prison receive continuity of care. We have a range of interventions to prepare prison leavers to continue their recovery journey in the community, including Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide, who strengthen links between prisons, probation and treatment providers.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the capacity of accredited probation programmes is in each region.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A regional breakdown of staff in post vs target staffing has been provided below.
Probation Region | Target Staffing (FTE) | Staff in Post (FTE) | Staffing Level (%) |
PS East Midlands | 82.1 | 52.9 | 64% |
PS East of England | 161.9 | 122.4 | 76% |
PS Greater Manchester | 68.9 | 66.5 | 97% |
PS Kent, Surrey & Sussex | 78.6 | 49.4 | 63% |
PS London | 134.4 | 106 | 79% |
PS North East | 64 | 54.4 | 85% |
PS North West | 104.1 | 92.8 | 89% |
PS South Central | 82.8 | 62.5 | 75% |
PS South West | 136.6 | 110.3 | 81% |
PS Wales | 107.2 | 103.1 | 96% |
PS West Midlands | 113.5 | 73.1 | 64% |
PS Yorkshire & the Humber | 96 | 79.2 | 83% |
Overall | 79% | ||
Notes
Staff in Post data have been taken from Workforce Planning Tool returns for December 2024.
Workforce Planning Tools are subject to inaccuracy as a result of the manual nature with which returns are completed.
Targets have been taken from the December 2024 Target Staffing figures as reflected in the Workforce Planning Tools.
Data shows the average position across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers within month.
Data includes Internal functions, 'PS Accredited Programmes', 'PS Sexual Offending Programmes' and 'PS Structured Interventions'.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by prison officers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by band 3-5 prison officers in public sector prisons is given in the following table. Figures are given as of 31 December each year.
Although national staffing levels have improved, we are focusing on retaining the new intakes of staff. As of December 2024, 39.2% of Band 3-5 prison officers have less than 3 years of experience.
As the figures show, over the last 14 years of Conservative Government, experience of prison officers was allowed to decline. The loss of experienced staff has left the Service with a relatively inexperienced workforce, and we are improving our learning and development offer to upskill these newer colleagues.
We launched The Enable Programme, which is a dedicated HMPPS workforce transformation programme. It aims to transform prisons over the medium term, through a series of workforce and regime changes that will transform how HMPPS trains, develops, leads, and supports prison staff. This includes new training foundation training and upskilling packages for prison officers at the beginning of their service, and a strengthened succession planning and talent pipeline for prison Governors. We have already began rolling this programme out focusing on the most inexperienced staff, first.
Table 1 – Cumulative length of service(1) of band 3-5 prison officers(2) in public sector prisons in England and Wales, as at 31 December each year from 2010 to 2024(3)
Date | Number of prison officers in post | Cumulative length of service of all prison officers (Years) |
(Full Time Equivalent) | ||
31/12/2010 | 24,501 | 329,353 |
31/12/2011 | 23,054 | 326,563 |
31/12/2012 | 21,841 | 326,660 |
31/12/2013 | 18,731 | 287,921 |
31/12/2014 | 17,795 | 278,254 |
31/12/2015 | 18,235 | 272,086 |
31/12/2016 | 17,887 | 261,607 |
31/12/2017 | 19,901 | 253,415 |
31/12/2018 | 22,681 | 247,741 |
31/12/2019 | 22,116 | 246,083 |
31/12/2020 | 21,501 | 242,473 |
31/12/2021 | 22,072 | 239,970 |
31/12/2022 | 21,562 | 226,620 |
31/12/2023 | 23,198 | 220,227 |
31/12/2024 | 23,062 | 215,994 |
Notes
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. 2. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers. |
3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year. |
4. Data may not match previous releases as we are now excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts. |
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of (a) attrition, (b) sickness absence and (c) work-related stress there were for probation officers in each region in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Number of leavers, sickness absences and stress-related sickness absences for probation officers in the 12 months to end of December 2024 by region:
| Leavers | Sickness absences | Of which, |
Approved Premises | 0 | 7 | ~ |
East Midlands Probation Service | 24 | 424 | 50 |
East of England Probation Service | 41 | 469 | 45 |
Greater Manchester Probation Service | 17 | 276 | 39 |
Kent, Surrey and Sussex Probation Service | 17 | 265 | 36 |
London Probation Service | 78 | 569 | 86 |
North East Probation Service | 16 | 239 | 30 |
North West Probation Service | 33 | 442 | 61 |
South Central Probation Service | 20 | 343 | 47 |
South West Probation Service | 30 | 351 | 50 |
Wales Probation Service | 30 | 322 | 68 |
West Midlands Probation Service | 47 | 460 | 76 |
Yorkshire & the Humber Probation Service | 47 | 517 | 77 |
Other parts of HMPPS2 | 1 | 10 | ~ |
Probation officers total | 401 | 4,694 | 669 |
1) There is a sickness reason in the MoJ HR system called 'Stress' but this does not show whether it is work-related or not.
2) Includes probation officers working outside of the Probation Service but still within HMPPS.
3) ~ Denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values of 2 or fewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by probation officers in each year since 2021.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all band 4 probation officers is given in the following table. Years’ figures are given as of 31 December each year from 2021 to 2024.
The service of Probation Service staff in Probation Trusts prior to the creation of the Probation Service on 1 June 2014 is not included and thus the figures presented here are an underestimate, and do not represent the full cumulative experience of Probation Officers.
Date | Number of probation officers in post | Cumulative length of service of all probation officers (Years) |
(Full Time Equivalent) | ||
31/12/2021 | 4,613 | 37,105 |
31/12/2022 | 4,648 | 38,332 |
31/12/2023 | 4,948 | 41,088 |
31/12/2024 | 5,283 | 45,667 |
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.
The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.
Data may not match previous releases as we are now excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts.
Data are extracted from large administrative data systems and are based on HR records.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the amount of time off in lieu that was accrued by probation officers in each year since 2021; and how much and what proportion of this time was (a) taken and (b) rolled over.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with bidders for prison education contracts on the New Fair Deal for pensions.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Guidance to bidders on the application of the New Fair Deal was included in the Invitation to Tender. Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender. Successful bidders will be supported to mobilise new services, including addressing any questions relating to New Fair Deal.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of probation officer salaries in the context of the (a) workload and (b) level of stress associated with this role.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Probation Service this Government inherited was burdened with a workload which often exceeded what staff should be expected to handle. Probation staff are drawn to the profession because it is a vocation, it is right that we recognise the resilience and dedication of our staff.
To achieve this and support our hardworking probation staff, in October, we brought forward planned increases to pay, impacting the majority of staff by six months enabling access to improved pay earlier than planned.
We shortly intend to engage with Trade Union colleagues about a new pay deal effective April 2025, following the current multi-year deal coming to an end in March 2025.