Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are awaiting completion of security and vetting checks before commencing employment within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

The number of individuals currently awaiting completion of security and vetting checks prior to commencing employment within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was 14,694 as of 18 May 2026.

This figure reflects the full onboarding pipeline, covering candidates from the point at which they receive a provisional offer and enter pre-employment checks, through to the completion of all security and vetting processes and a final decision being made on their case. It therefore includes individuals at different stages of the process, not solely those awaiting a decision at a single point in time.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold sufficiently robust or complete data to accurately report on the length of time individuals have been awaiting security and vetting clearance across all stages or providers. Vetting and pre-employment checks are undertaken through a combination of HMPPS, Shared Services Limited (SSL), and other parallel processes. As a result, a consolidated and reliable breakdown of waiting times, such as those exceeding three, six, or twelve months, is not available, and therefore unable to be provided.