Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers his Department plans to recruit in each of the next three years.

As part of the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper published in November 2016, the Government committed to an increase of 2,500 prison officers by the end of 2018.
Between the end of October 2016 and the end of June 2017, there has been a net increase of 800 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Band 3 to 5 prison officers. Therefore by the end of 2018 the Government plans to increase prison officer numbers by a further (net) 1,700 FTE officers

Beyond this date recruitment requirements will depend on operational staffing requirements, future prison estate changes and any future changes to Prison Officer leaving rates.