Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison officers recruited in 2023 have left the prison service.

The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including leavers, and the latest publication covers data up to 30 September 2023. Figures for the remainder of 2023 are due for publication on 15 February 2023 and therefore this information cannot be released at this time.

In the period from 01 January 2023 to 30 September 2023, there were 3,967 band 3-5 prison officers who joined HM Prison and Probation Service. Details of the number and proportion who have left the Prison Service (including the Youth Custody Service) as of 30 September 2023 are given in the table below.

Table 1: Status of band 3-5 prison officers¹ who joined² between 1 January 2023 and 30 September 2023 - as of 30 September 2023

Notes

1. Includes Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

2. New recruits joining HMPPS - does not include internal transfers or conversions.

3. Even though these staff are still working in prisons they may no longer be in prison officer roles due to staff movements etc

Appropriate staffing across our prison estate is vitally important. In line with Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December 2021, we are committed to recruiting up to 5,000 additional prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s in line with estate expansion. The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) prison officers has increased over time. As of 30 September 2023, there has been increase of 1,441 FTE (6.7%) since 30 September 2022. For prison officers, there has been an increase of 632 FTE (2.8%) compared to June 2023. Over the year to 30 September 2023, 5,377 band 3 to 5 offers were appointed (consisting of new recruits and existing staff who converted to a band 3 officer grade).

In late 2021, HM Prison Service launched a retention tool kit to help Governors to tackle the main drivers of attrition in their prisons. We are using the data from this and enhanced exit interviews to better understand why employees are leaving.

HM Prison Service made a significant investment in pay for prison staff through the 2023/24 pay awards. This delivered an increase of at least 5% for all Prison Service staff, with prison officers receiving a 7% increase. Since 2019, the starting salary increased for an entry level prison officer from £23,529 to £32,851 (national rate, 39-hour week with unsocial hours).

Since April 2022, HM Prison Service have invested in several new initiatives to improve the experience of our new joiners and increase retention of our employees. These include a new peer-to-peer learning scheme, the introduction of mentors for new staff, a supervision pilot in two prisons, and new leadership training in prisons facing retention challenges.

These measures are working. In the 12 months to 30 September 2023, resignation rates for band 3-5 prison officers fell to 8.6%.