Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the number of new entrants to the prison service who have little or no experience of prison regimes prior to the outbreak of covid-19 on (a) the recovery from covid-19, (b) prison safety, (c) rehabilitation and (d) resettlement.

From 23 March 2020 (when the national lockdown was introduced) to 31 March 2021 there were 4,293 new entrants to either HM Prison Service or the Youth Custody Service, and of these 3,797 were still in post as at 31 March 2021. As at 31 March 2021 the headcount in HM Prison Service and the Youth Custody Service was 37,671, and therefore the new entrants still in post as at 31 March 2021 made up 10% of all HMPS and YCS staff. Of the 3,797 new entrants since 23 March 2020 that are still in post on 31 March 2021, 186 had worked for HMPPS previously, prior to 23 March 2020.

Throughout the 12 months to 31 March 2021 there have been significant restrictions to prison regimes due to Covid-19. These restrictions have been necessary in order to prevent the spread of Covid across the prison estate. Our plan for easing restrictions in prisons and probation, and re-introducing them where necessary, will be guided by public health advice alongside an operational assessment of what can be safely implemented, whilst ensuring we can keep staff and prisoners safe. We are focused on ensuring that we recover, expand regimes and begin to address the backlog of activity created by Covid-19 restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so, and in a way that supports our staff and prisoners. Staff training and professional development is also being prioritised as we emerge from the pandemic.

We do not underestimate the challenges faced by everyone working in prisons throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and providing prison staff with the right support, training and tools to empower them to do their jobs, including the roll-out of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), a peer to peer support programme for staff designed to assist people to deal effectively with the effects of a traumatic event.

To support staff who have joined in the past 12 months, we are focusing on supporting new recruits in their early days. Following training, all new starters receive an in-house support programme designed to meet the specific needs of their establishment, and in line with Prison Safety Policy. Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) has also continued to be as robust and thorough as prior to the pandemic to prepare new entrants for the role of a Prison Officer in a non-pandemic situation. Support for new joiners will continue to be provided for them as regime restrictions change.

Whilst staff who have joined in the 12 months to 31 March 2021 will have had less experience delivering some key elements of the regime than those who joined prior to Covid-19, we have prioritised restarting activities focused on offender management / 1-1 activity, rehabilitation, education, progression and resettlement. POELT training and ongoing support at establishments will continue to aid new joiners to deliver these important aspects of the regime successfully.

As part of a body of work looking at learning and recovery from Covid-19, we are feeding learning into prison safety and wellbeing initiatives, regime redesign, planning and ongoing mitigations for prisoners. Prisons are also using lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to prioritise resources to focus on safety and wellbeing, adapt provision, reinforce fair and decent behaviours and to show visible leadership. We are building on learning with a programme of events happening this month which will be an opportunity for operational staff to further share and reflect on learning from Covid to inform practice and both recovery and future reforms. Experienced staff as well as staff who joined in the 12 months to 31 March 2021 will be involved in these in order to best inform discussions.