Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the vacancy rate is for prison officers; and what assessment he has made of the regional disparity in demand for prison officers.

HMPPS publishes the difference between Staff in Post and Target Staffing Figures at establishment and national level in the quarterly HMPPS Workforce statistics (Table 4 of the Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab). The June 2025 HMPPS Workforce quarterly statistics are the latest currently available. The September 2025 HMPPS Workforce quarterly statistics are due to be published on 20 November.

Target Staffing level is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training. Target Staffing Figures are set on a site-specific basis and vary in size, contributing to varying demand for prison officers by site and across regions nationally.

We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced which is fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons. Substantive recruitment efforts will continue at all sites where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need.

We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate, including at a regional level, and look to provide short-term tactical support where possible. Where establishments feel that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, there are a number of ways they can maximise the use of their own resource and seek support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed nationally at Agency level.