Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the civil service headcount for their Department was on (a) 15 November 2022 and (b) 1 February 2020.

The Ministry of Justice’s monthly workforce data is published here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-moj

We report as at the last day of the month so the nearest available date is 31st January 2020.

On 31st January 2020 there were 76,441 payroll staff in post (headcount) in the Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies. The latest available data is for 30th September 2022 when there were 88,713 payroll staff in post. Payroll staff are made up of frontline staff working in prisons, courts and in probation services as well as civil servants in HQ functions.