Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women employed by organisations providing services to probation under contract have been refused vetting clearance under the prison service instruction and probation service instruction Security Vetting: PSI 07/2014, PI 03/2014.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold sufficiently robust or complete data on protected characteristics, including gender, in relation to vetting outcomes under PSI 07/2014, PI 03/2014. Vetting and pre-employment checks are undertaken through a combination of HMPPS, Shared Services Limited, and other parallel processes.

While certain protected characteristic information may be held by third-party providers, HMPPS does not record vetting outcomes by gender within its management information systems. As a result, a consolidated and reliable breakdown of the number of women employed by organisations providing services to probation under contract who have been refused vetting clearance is not available and therefore cannot be provided.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and to ensuring that policies and operational practices comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Security vetting requirements are applied consistently and proportionately in accordance with national policy and business need.