Found: and the prison service with a view to improving the current mechanism for the determination of prison

Found: What about the total extra costs in terms of prison officers’ pay and other matters?

Found: Prison officers pay 4.68%, so it is a very material difference.

Found: years.3247.Despite this, a recommendation by the independent prison service pay review body to increase prison

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation by the Prison Service Pay Review Body to offer different paid contracts for Prison Officers on Fair and Sustainable rates and closed rates; and what steps he is taking to address disparities between the two pay structures.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

In 2012, HMPPS introduced of a new common pay and grading structure called Fair & Sustainable (F&S) that applied to all new staff who joined the service after 1 April 2012 and existing staff who would benefit from opting into the modernised pay structures. This was a Workforce Policy decision and therefore not determined by the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB). There are, however, still a group of staff employed pre-2012 who remain on legacy “closed” grade pay structures. The reason for this is that they would not benefit financially from “opting in” to F&S so they have been allowed to remain on legacy terms. This year, because of the Prison Service Pay Review Body recommendations, the majority of closed grade staff will financially benefit from opting into the Fair & Sustainable pay structures and we will encourage them to do so.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184944, Prison Service: Dismissal, what proportion of prison staff aged 60 or over were dismissed from service because of medical inefficiency in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the proportion of staff, aged 60 and over in HM Prisons (including YCS) who left for reasons of ‘Dismissal - Unsatisfactory attendance’ or ‘Dismissal - Medical Inefficiency’ is given in the table below. Between January 2017 and December 2019, cases of ‘Dismissal - Medical Inefficiency’ were recorded as ‘Dismissal - Unsatisfactory attendance’ on our internal reporting system, and so these have been combined in the response throughout the time series.

(headcount)

Notes

1. Age as at time of leaving

2. From January 2017 to December 2019, information regarding dismissals as a result of medical inefficiencies were recorded as unsatisfactory attendances. Therefore, these categories have been combined here throughout the timeseries.

Prison officers are part of the Civil Service Pension Scheme which has a pension age linked to the individuals state pensions age – this is between 65 and 68 depending on their date of birth. This is the same for HMPPS in England and Wales as it is for the Scottish Prison Service.

This is a defined benefit scheme which pays a pension for life without investment uncertainties. It has one of the lower employee contribution rates across the public sector, whilst employer contributions are 27%

Whilst the fire and police service pensions have a lower retirement age of 60, members of these schemes pay between 12% and 14% contributions, whereas prison officers pay only 5.45%

HMPPS takes very seriously the health and safety of all prison staff – whatever their age. All prison officers who joined the service after April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain a prison officer.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the hourly payment rate for overtime is for prison officers through Payment Plus.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The current payment rate for Prison Officers is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/psprb-twenty-first-report-on-england-and-wales-2022. This is paid for specific circumstances in addition to the individual’s normal rate of pay.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total increase in pay to prison staff was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

HMPPS employs Prison Officers on two sets of terms and conditions. Pay for Prison Officers employed under either set of terms and conditions is determined through the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) process.

The tables below show the rates of pay and annual increases that applied for the core Prison Officer roles, for each set of terms and conditions, for each of the last five years:

1) Legacy Grades (those employed prior to 1 April 2012 and who have not chosen to move across to the new structures)

2) New Fair and Sustainable (F&S) Pay Ranges – Post-April 2012

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average pay was for band (a) three, (b) four and (c) five prison officers in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The table below quantifies average pay as at 30 June 2022. This does not therefore include the impact of the 2022 pay award which will not be paid until the end of September. HMPPS employs Prison Officers on two sets of terms and conditions (legacy terms that applied prior to April 2012 and modernised ‘Fair and Sustainable’ terms). The average figures combine staff covered by each set of terms and conditions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on (a) amber and (b) red market supplements to prison officers in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We are working hard to improve retention of frontline officers at prisons across England and Wales, providing opportunities to progress their careers and significant investment to keep them safe. Together, this will ensure we can recruit vital staff to keep offenders off the streets and protect the public.

Market Supplements are an additional (non-pensionable) allowance in place to support recruitment and retention at certain prison sites.

The annual expenditure on amber and red market supplements to prison officers in each of the last five years is provided below:

It has not been possible to separate the amber and red market supplement expenditure for each financial year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of granting a pay rise to prison officers.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Prison Officer pay rates are reviewed annually through the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) process. The PSPRB process for 2022/23 is currently underway.

When considering our proposals to the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) we carefully consider the expected impact on recruitment, retention and staff morale of any proposed pay award. We have recently submitted our evidence to the PSPRB for the coming pay round which proposes a pay award for all Prison Officers.

PSPRB information be found on the Gov UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/prison-services-pay-review-body.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the base salary and salary progression of a prison officer and its impact on officer retention.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Pay and progression for prison officers is determined annually through the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) process.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is currently considering proposals for inclusion in the Government’s evidence submission to the PSPRB for the 2022/23 pay round. The adequacy of prison officer salary and progression and its impact on recruitment and retention is factored into those considerations.

The Government’s evidence will be published and submitted to the PSPRB in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the starting salary of a prison officer and (b) the impact of that salary on recruitment.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Pay and progression for prison officers is determined annually through the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) process.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is currently considering proposals for inclusion in the Government’s evidence submission to the PSPRB for the 2022/23 pay round. The adequacy of prison officer salary and progression and its impact on recruitment and retention is factored into those considerations.

The Government’s evidence will be published and submitted to the PSPRB in due course.

Found: by consolidating £1,500 into all Band 2 Operational Support Grades pay and £3,000 into all Band 3 Prison

Found: by consolidating £1,500 into all Band 2 Operational Support Grades pay and £3,000 into all Band 3 Prison