Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the turnover of prison staff in (a) Band 2 and (b) Bands 3 to 5.

To help stem attrition in Operational Band 2-5’s grades Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has created a retention strategy which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work. As part of this strategy, we are looking at leaver trend data, undertaking in-depth exit interviews and using this feedback to establish the drivers of attrition in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Local, Regional or National Interventions are then agreed to ensure that we are embedding retention plans in establishments. This work consists of reviewing existing data, policy, process and benefit arrangements for staff and establishing how best to optimise them in order to retain employees and stabilise the workforce.