Prison Officers
(asked on 9th May 2019) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the number of years it will take for the cumulative number of years experience of prison officers to return to 2010 levels.
Band 3-5 prison officers’ cumulative length of service for 2010 and 2018 are provided in table 1 below.
Table 1 - Band 3-5 Prison Officers1, staff in post (full time equivalent) and total cumulative length of service2
| FTE | Cumulative Length of Service (Years)2 |
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31st December 2010 | 24,501 | 329,353 |
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31st December 2018 | 22,722 | 248,008 |
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Notes: |
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1. Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers. 2. Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. |
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No assessment has been made of the number of years it will take for the cumulative number of years’ experience of prison officers to return to 2010 levels.
Recruiting and retaining engaged and motivated staff is crucial to driving improvements across the estate.
We gave officers an increased pay award last year and have provided additional training and support to all staff, offering services including 24/7 counselling, trauma support and occupational health assessments.
We know that retention of staff will take more than a ‘one size fits all’ approach, and specific action is being taken where needed.