Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in the London division of the National Probation Service.

We are currently recruiting more staff into the National Probation Service (NPS). Changes to the recruitment process and eligibility criteria for probation officers have been made resulting in increases in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants. A national campaign to recruit probation officers took place recently and successful candidates will start in July 2019, however, it is of note that these campaigns have been consistent.

NPS London have prioritised the recruitment of Probation Officers to fill all current and projected vacancies. As of March 2019, approximately 1,325 full time equivalent staff are employed; a net increase of 57 from March 2018. We are recruiting across London, with 211 new staff joining over the past year. NPS London are closely monitoring the caseload capacity for staff and take proportionate and appropriate action to manage workloads across the division.