Police, Prison and Probation Officers

Lord Rogan Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

The latest figures are that we have 97% of the number of staff we need in our prisons, but clearly we still have a bit to go. Also, a number of those staff are yet to be fully trained and in the right place. Before I was asked to come and do this role, I did a full review into the training of prison officers. I am fortunate that it is more likely to happen now I am in this role, because training is a big part of the reason why some of our staff leave too early. We want to make sure that people build their whole careers in the Prison Service, because the skills they learn—those soft skills about how they speak to prisoners and offenders—really make the difference in helping turn someone’s life around.

[Lord Rogan (UUP)]

My Lords, the Police Service of Northern Ireland currently has an all-time low of 6,300 officers. The chief constable is seeking approximately £200 million additional funding to increase the headcount to 7,000 in 2028. While I acknowledge that responsibility for funding the PSNI is devolved, national security is clearly the responsibility of His Majesty’s Government. Given the specific threat from republican terrorists to police and prison officers in Northern Ireland, does the Minister agree that it is incumbent on UK Ministers to step forward to bridge this funding gap to help keep these brave men and women safe?

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

I am pleased to say that we as a Government are putting an extra £1 billion into policing, which will go a long way to addressing the neighbourhood policing issues that we have discussed.