Probation: Staff

(asked on 7th February 2024) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of probation officer caseload.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 19th February 2024

We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year since 2021 to recruit staff, bring down caseloads and deliver better supervision of offenders in the community.

We have also accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers, particularly in areas with the most significant staffing challenges. As a result, over 4,000 trainees, a record number, have started on training courses between April 2020 and March 2023. These intakes will qualify by the end of 2024 and will have a direct impact on reducing caseloads.

The Probation Service is constantly monitoring staffing levels and retention, specifically in hard to recruit to areas, which remain challenging. We continue to take tactical decisions to mitigate the risk in sites where it is most acute, as well as taking forward several non-pay related activities to improve retention.

From September 2022 to September 2023, the Probation Service saw an increase in staff of 11.8%, Senior Probation Officers saw an increase of 13%, and Probation Officers saw an increase of 6.9%.

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