Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by prison officers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by band 3-5 prison officers in public sector prisons is given in the following table. Figures are given as of 31 December each year.
Although national staffing levels have improved, we are focusing on retaining the new intakes of staff. As of December 2024, 39.2% of Band 3-5 prison officers have less than 3 years of experience.
As the figures show, over the last 14 years of Conservative Government, experience of prison officers was allowed to decline. The loss of experienced staff has left the Service with a relatively inexperienced workforce, and we are improving our learning and development offer to upskill these newer colleagues.
We launched The Enable Programme, which is a dedicated HMPPS workforce transformation programme. It aims to transform prisons over the medium term, through a series of workforce and regime changes that will transform how HMPPS trains, develops, leads, and supports prison staff. This includes new training foundation training and upskilling packages for prison officers at the beginning of their service, and a strengthened succession planning and talent pipeline for prison Governors. We have already began rolling this programme out focusing on the most inexperienced staff, first.
Table 1 – Cumulative length of service(1) of band 3-5 prison officers(2) in public sector prisons in England and Wales, as at 31 December each year from 2010 to 2024(3)
Date | Number of prison officers in post | Cumulative length of service of all prison officers (Years) |
(Full Time Equivalent) | ||
31/12/2010 | 24,501 | 329,353 |
31/12/2011 | 23,054 | 326,563 |
31/12/2012 | 21,841 | 326,660 |
31/12/2013 | 18,731 | 287,921 |
31/12/2014 | 17,795 | 278,254 |
31/12/2015 | 18,235 | 272,086 |
31/12/2016 | 17,887 | 261,607 |
31/12/2017 | 19,901 | 253,415 |
31/12/2018 | 22,681 | 247,741 |
31/12/2019 | 22,116 | 246,083 |
31/12/2020 | 21,501 | 242,473 |
31/12/2021 | 22,072 | 239,970 |
31/12/2022 | 21,562 | 226,620 |
31/12/2023 | 23,198 | 220,227 |
31/12/2024 | 23,062 | 215,994 |
Notes
1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. 2. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers. |
3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year. |
4. Data may not match previous releases as we are now excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts. |
Asked by: Fred Thomas (Labour - Plymouth Moor View)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers had (a) less than one years’ experience (b) less than three years' experience and (c) three or more years’ service at (i) 30 June 2010, (ii) 30 June 2014 and (iii) 30 June 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the length of service of Probation Officers in Table 4 of the quarterly “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The latest publication and associated tables, which cover the year to September 2024, are available here:
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-september-2024.
Data is only available since the National Probation Service was formed in June 2014, as a result of which length of service data for 30 June 2010 is unavailable. Length of service data for Probation Officers in post on 30 June 2024 is included in the above publication.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase cumulative prison officer experience.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what incentives are in place to retain experienced prison officers.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have (a) joined and (b) left service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in supervisory roles have less than one year's experience.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) public and (b) private prisons require prison officers to have a minimum level of experience.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to recruit more prison officers.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse. We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.
On recruitment, nationally we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.
There are no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training prior to starting their roles.
The loss of staff post-Covid has meant that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited. Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over 40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability, and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.
On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and 5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.
Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 4,738 | 2,301 | 2,409 | 3,842 | 4,312 | 4,818 | 4,819 |
Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers
Time series - 12 months to end of each year | |||||||
Grade | 31-Mar-2019 | 31-Mar-2020 | 31-Mar-2021 | 31-Mar-2022 | 31-Mar-2023 | 31-Mar-2024 | 30-Jun-2024 |
Band 5 / Custodial Managers | 65 | 91 | 78 | 91 | 97 | 103 | 104 |
Band 4 / Supervising Officer | 138 | 165 | 88 | 155 | 156 | 138 | 138 |
Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists) | 2,437 | 2,596 | 1,950 | 3,141 | 3,078 | 2,907 | 2,926 |
To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024 there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined, only their latest service would be counted.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by prison officers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all prison officers is given in Table 1 below. Most years’ figures are given as at 31 December each year, aside from 2023, where the latest published figures are as at 30 September 2023.
HMPPS has a strong training offer for new recruits which ensures all officers are equipped to perform their roles safely and securely. Total and average length of service in the workforce will increase as HMPPS’s new recruits from recent years continue in the prison service, who we are seeking to support through a number of programmes aimed at increasing retention.
This includes the introduction of over 150 new colleague mentors to support new staff in their roles, which takes the pressure off both experienced Prison Officers and managers, and, a Career Pathways framework to enable staff to identify their development needs and career aspirations. We are also running supervision pilots in three prisons alongside the introduction of new leadership training, which will contribute to supporting career development and retention of experienced officers.
Table 1 – Band 3-5 Prison Officers1 in England and Wales cumulative length of service2, as at 31 December each year from 2010 to 2022 and 30 September 20233
| Date | Number of Prison officers in post | Cumulative Length of Service of all prison officers |
|
| (Full Time Equivalent) |
| ||
| 31/12/2010 | 24,501 | 329,353 |
|
| 31/12/2011 | 23,051 | 326,480 |
|
| 31/12/2012 | 21,841 | 326,660 |
|
| 31/12/2013 | 18,731 | 287,921 |
|
| 31/12/2014 | 17,795 | 278,254 |
|
| 31/12/2015 | 18,235 | 272,086 |
|
| 31/12/2016 | 17,887 | 261,607 |
|
| 31/12/2017 | 19,925 | 253,665 |
|
| 31/12/2018 | 22,722 | 248,008 |
|
| 31/12/2019 | 22,154 | 246,375 |
|
| 31/12/2020 | 21,564 | 243,036 |
|
| 31/12/2021 | 22,156 | 240,501 |
|
| 31/12/2022 | 21,632 | 227,105 |
|
| 30/09/2023 | 23,058 | 221,755 |
|
Notes to tables: | ||||
Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that point of the year. | ||||
Table 2 - Band 3-5 Prison Officers1 in England and Wales cumulative length of service2, as at 30 September 20233 - by length of service band | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
Completed years of service | Number of Prison officers in post (FTE) | Cumulative Length of Service of all prison officers ( Years) |
|
|
0-4 | 11,507 | 20,990 |
|
|
5-9 | 5,038 | 33,569 |
|
|
10+ | 6,513 | 167,196 |
|
|
Total | 23,058 | 221,755 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes to tables: |
|
|
|
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1. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers. | ||||
2. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. | ||||
3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that point of the year. | ||||
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers are aged over 63 as of 29 November 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including number of staff in post by length of service and grade. The latest publication covers data for up to the period 30 September 2023. Information after this date has not yet been published and so data relating to any period after this date cannot be given.
Data for the number of band 3-5 prison officers who were 63 or over as at 30 September 2023 is given as follows: there were 501 (headcount) band 3-5 prison officers in service within HM Prisons and Probation Service who were aged 63 or over as at 30 September 2023. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.