Found: After several years in which its recommendations were not implemented, the independent Prison Service Pay

Found: Accommodation and Substance Misuse, an uplift in staff pay costs following implementation of the Prison Service Pay

Found: We are fed up with Government cherry- picking recommendations from the Prison Service Pay Review Body

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that the salaries of prison officers reflect their job responsibilities.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

HMPPS is committed to ensuring that we have a fair, transparent and effective pay and reward system, which reflects the demands of public-sector prisons. HMPPS uses an externally and independently designed, bespoke job evaluation scheme to evaluate the relative size and weight of the different roles across the Prison Service, including Prison Officers. The job evaluation scheme was developed using wide-ranging research and consultation with staff and trade unions.

Prison Officer roles (and all roles within the Prison Service) have job descriptions which focus on the activities that occupy the majority of their time, setting out the main responsibilities, activities and duties of the role. Through the job evaluation process, jobs are scored and grouped together in pay bands. Prison Officers are employed on pay band 3.

Pay for Prison Officers is informed by the independent recommendations made by the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) each year.

In making their recommendations, the PSPRB takes account of the written and oral evidence submitted by Government as well as evidence and representations made by the recognised Trade Unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association. The PSPRB considers a range of factors including perceived or actual changes to the roles and responsibilities of Prison Officers as presented through the evidence, as well as financial indicators such as private sector wage growth, inflation, and future Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts.

There has been significant recent investment in Prison Officer pay. The 2024/25 Prison Service pay award delivered a pay rise of at 5% for all band 3 to 5 Prison Officers, Supervising Officers and Custodial Managers on modernised terms and conditions. This brings the starting salary for an entry level officer (on the national rate, 39 hours with unsocial hours) from £32,851 (as at 1 April 2023) to £34,494 (as at 1 April 2024).

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 prison officer salaries given the levels of (a) risk and (b) stress of this role.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Prison Service staff are some of our finest public servants. Despite their hard work, the Prison Service has been under immense pressure due to an increasing population and ageing estate.

One of the first things this Government did upon coming into office was to accept the independent recommendations of the Prison Service Pay Review Body in full. This delivered a pay rise of 5% for Band 3-5 Prison Officers on modernised terms and conditions. This brings the starting salary for an entry level officer (on the national rate, 39 hours with unsocial hours) from £32,851 to £34,494.

Given the challenges of working in a prison, we provide extensive mental health support, including a 24-hour helpline, confidential counselling, and online wellbeing services. Our Trauma Risk Management practitioners and Care Teams provide further support following any incidents while on duty.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of prison officer salary levels on staff retention rates.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The 2024/25 Prison Service pay award delivered a pay rise of at 5% for all Band 3 – 5 Prison Officers on modernised terms and conditions. This brings the starting salary for an entry level officer (on the national rate, 39 hours with unsocial hours) from £32,851 to £34,494.

As of 30 September 2024, there are 23,571 Band 3-5 Full Time Equivalent Prison Officers in post, and nationally across establishments we are at 99.5% of our Target Staffing Figure (when using hours adjusted FTE). We have seen indications of an improving retention picture in the past two years – as of September 2024, the resignation rate for Band 3-5 prison officers was 8.5%, which is an improvement of 3 percentage points since September 2022 (11.5%).

When asked about their primary reason for leaving the prison service, Pay and Reward no longer consistently features in the top five reasons for leaving as cited by staff in exit interviews.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate she has made of the level of pay rise required by prison officers for salaries to be at the same real-terms levels as they were in 2010.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Pay for Prison Officers is informed by independent recommendations made by the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB).

HMPPS’ written evidence to the PSPRB for 2025/26 was published on 10 December 2025. This noted that the rate of economic growth since the global financial crisis of 2008 has been substantially lower than in previous decades. Annual real productivity growth (GDP per hour worked) fell by around 1.5% from an average of 2.1% in the decade prior to 2008, to 0.6% between 2010 and 2019. Higher productivity enables higher wages, and only sustained productivity growth over the medium-term can deliver sustainable long-run economic growth and real-terms wage rises.

In making their independent recommendations, the PSPRB takes account of the written and oral evidence submitted by Government as well as evidence and representations made by the recognised Trade Unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association. The PSPRB considers a range of factors such as private sector wage growth, inflation, and future Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts.

Found: the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales Parole Board for England and Wales Prison Service Pay

Found: 2012 10Prisoner Escort and Custody Services Lay Observers Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Prison Service Pay

Found: From: Office for the Pay Review Bodies, Prison Service Pay Review Body, Ministry of Justice and HM Prison

Found: Justice 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ 24 January 2025 Dear Lord Timpson, PRISON SERVICE PAY

Found: From: Office for the Pay Review Bodies, Prison Service Pay Review Body, Ministry of Justice and HM Prison

Found: Justice 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ 24 January 2025 Dear Lord Timpson, PRISON SERVICE PAY

Found: Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) Secretariat ....................................... 21 Prison Service Pay