Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are awaiting completion of security and vetting checks before commencing employment within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service; and how many of those individuals have been waiting for (a) between three and six months, (b) between six and 12 months and (c) more than 12 months.

The number of individuals currently awaiting completion of security and vetting checks within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was 13,319 as of 12 October 2026.

This figure reflects the full onboarding pipeline, covering candidates from the point at which they receive a provisional offer and enter pre-employment checks, through to the completion of all security and vetting processes and a final decision being made on their case. For operational roles requiring initial training, it also includes individuals who have been granted clearance but are awaiting a place on a training course. The figure therefore captures individuals at different stages of onboarding, rather than solely those awaiting a vetting decision.

It also includes those awaiting additional job-role specific clearances, such as Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) and National Security Vetting (NSV), and those currently undergoing renewal of their HMPPS security clearance.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold sufficiently robust or complete data to accurately report on the length of time individuals have been awaiting security and vetting clearance across all stages or providers. Vetting and pre-employment checks are undertaken through a combination of HMPPS, Shared Services Limited (SSL), and other parallel processes. As a result, a consolidated and reliable breakdown of waiting times, such as those exceeding three, six, or twelve months, is not available, and therefore unable to be provided.