Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase prison staffing levels.

HMPPS have recruitment and retention activity underway for all sites with a current or future need. At the end of March 2023, there were 22,288 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) band 3-5 prison officers in post – an increase of 655 FTE (3.0%) prison officers compared to 31 December 2022. Since March 2022, we have also streamlined the recruitment process with average time for hiring and training prison officers falling month on month.

But recruitment is only part of the solution, we are also focusing on improving retention across the Prison Service. To increase retention rates, we have introduced a retention framework – and for new prison officers, New Colleague Mentors (NCMs) have been introduced to support the wellbeing of new colleagues in establishments across the estate. Over 150 NCMs have been funded and recruited to date. Early indications show the positive impact of NCMs in improving retention overall.

Finally, an increase in prison officer pay has also had a positive impact for increasing and retaining prison officer staffing levels. The 2022/23 prison service pay award delivered at least a 4% award to all staff, with additional investment of a £3,000 increase in ‘Band 3’ prison officer pay. The starting salary for a Band 3 prison officer on a 39-hour/week national contract is now £30,702. Initial exit interview data since July 2022, has shown that pay and reward has become less likely to be referred to as a main reason for leaving the Prison Service.