Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issues on the use of agency staff by the Probation Service.

In appropriate circumstances, the National Probation Service may use agency staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house.

Guidance on use of agency staff by the National Probation Service is contained in a number of documents, including Probation Instructions relating to vetting and authorisation procedures.