Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of new probation officers left the service within a year of joining in each year since 2014.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A considerable majority of Probation Officers first join the Probation Service as Trainee Probation Officers. During their time as a trainee, they will spend around 15-21 months training before potentially taking up a post as a Band 4 Probation Officer. As a result of this trainee pipeline, there will only be new Probation Officers with less than one year in the Probation Service if they joined the service as a qualified Probation Officer and then left within 12 months.
Retention of Probation staff is a priority for the service. A national standardised approach to exit interviews has been implemented to better understand the key drivers of attrition and feedback from these interviews helps shape and determine retention interventions at a local and national level.
The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position. The pay increases differ for each job role, but to provide an example Probation Officers will see their starting salary rise from £30,208 in 2021/22 to £35,130 by 2024/25.
The table below shows only those Probation Officers who joined the service as qualified Probation Officers and so will not include any Probation Officers who joined as trainees (who will all have been in the service for longer than a year by the time they qualify as a Probation Officer). The Probation Service unified in June 2021, bringing together the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies. As a result, figures pre- and post-June 2021 are not comparable because of the change in the workforce makeup.
Table 1 - Number of Band 4 Probation Officer joiners to HMPPS and those who left HMPPS within 1 year: 2022-2023
Year | All joiners | Staff who left within 1 year |
2022 | 42 | 3 |
2023 | 44 | 5 |
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many community payback supervisors were employed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Community Payback allows the public to see justice being done by ensuring offenders are making visible reparations for their crimes. We have invested £93 million in Community Payback over a three-year period to boost the delivery of placements in local communities.
The new unified Probation Service launched in England and Wales in 2021. The Probation Service now has responsibility for unpaid work delivery, which had previously been the responsibility of Community Rehabilitation Companies, as such we do not have staffing data before 2022.
Yearly data since 31 December 2021 has been provided in table 1 below. The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, and the latest publication covers data up to 31 December 2023.
Table 1: Band 3 Community payback supervisors1,2 in post each year, as of 31 December 2021-2023
(full-time-equivalent) | |
Date | Number of Community payback Supervisors in post |
31-Dec-21 | 427 |
31-Dec-22 | 576 |
31-Dec-23 | 635 |
Notes:
1. The community payback supervisor job title was first recorded on the SOP HR reporting system in October 2021, and therefore data before this point is not available.
2. Includes Probation Service pay band 3 staff.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stress-related sick day absences were recorded for probation staff in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including the number of working days lost for Probation Service staff. The latest publication covers data up to 30 September 2023.
Data for the number of probation staff who were absent due to stress-related sickness is provided in table 1 below.
Table 1: Number of working days lost due to stress for all Probation Service staff1, 01 January to 31 December 2021-2022 and 01 January to 30 September 2023
(Based on full time equivalence)
| Working days lost |
01 January to 31 December 20212 | 30,763 |
01 January to 31 December 2022 | 47,690 |
01 January to 30 September 20233 | 40,547 |
Notes:
1. Includes all staff employed in the Probation Service. A small number of staff in the Probation Service do not have probation grades
2. In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service. The increase in the 2022 data is partly accounted for by this increase in staffing.
3. Latest published data is up to 30 September 2023 and so 2023 is not a full calendar year.
(p) Figures relating to current financial year are provisional and may be subject to change in future iterations of this publication.
We are focused on ensuring our staff have the support they need to manage workplace stress, including support for staff and managers such as Occupational Health and the Employee Assistance Programme. Staff are also able to access additional support through staff networks, staff support leads and the HMPPS network of Mental Health Allies.
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year to deliver more robust supervision, recruit thousands more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer. The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for its staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position. Positively, the Probation Service leaving rate was 9.8% in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, a decrease from the previous 12 months.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stress-related sick day absences were recorded for probation staff in Greater London in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including the number of working days lost for Probation Service staff by structure/division. The latest publication covers data up to 30th September 2023.
Data for the number of probation staff who were absent due to stress-related sickness in Greater London is provided in table 1 below.
Table 1: Number of working days lost due to stress for all Probation Service staff1 in London, 01 January to 31 December 2021-2022 and 01 January to 30 September 2023
(Based on full time equivalence)
Group | 01 January to 31 Dec 20212 | 01 January to 31 Dec 2022 | 01 January to 30 Sep 20233 |
Approved Premises - London | 418 | 550 | 320 |
London Probation Service | 5,450 | 7,101 | 6,078 |
Total | 5,868 | 7,651 | 6,399 |
Notes:
1. Includes all staff employed in the Probation Service. A small number of staff in the Probation Service do not have probation grades.
2. In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from private sector Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) came together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service
3. Latest published data is up to 30 September 2023 and so 2023 is not a full calendar year.
(p) Figures relating to current financial year are provisional and may be subject to change in future iterations of this publication.
We are focused on ensuring our staff have the support they need to manage workplace stress, including support for staff and managers such as Occupational Health and the Employee Assistance Programme. Staff are also able to access additional support through staff networks, staff support leads and the HMPPS network of Mental Health Allies.
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service. We have accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) to increase staffing levels, particularly in Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) with the most significant staffing challenges. As a result, over 4,000 PQiPs joined the service between 2020/21 and 2022/23 which we anticipate will start to directly impact reduction of caseloads. We continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions to help bolster the number of applications and improve time to hire for key operational roles.
The Probation Service is in its second year of a multi-year pay deal for staff. Salary values of all pay bands will increase each year, targeted at key operational grades to improve a challenging recruitment and retention position.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers were employed in the probation delivery units in the areas covering Greater London in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022 and (d) 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of probation officers in post based in London Probation Service are given in the table below. Figures broken down by each PDU can be found in the accompanying excel file.
Table 1: Band 4 Probation Officers in post in London Probation Service1, as at 30 September 2020-2023
Full-time equivalent | |
As at… | Number of Probation officers |
30 September 2020 | 434 |
30 September 2021 | 565 |
30 September 2022 | 549 |
30 September 2023 | 562 |
Notes
From April 2021, the Probation Service underwent a reorganisation, with staff moving into new Probation Delivery Units (PDUs). Therefore, prior to this date, staff were based in LDUs (Local Delivery Units). During the reorganisation, there was a split of some staff who had moved into the new PDUs and some staff who were still assigned to the old LDUs on the reporting system. A small number of staff remained on cost centres related to the old structure after the move
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of newly qualified probation officers stay in the Probation Service for more than 48 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Using the data available, we can look to specifying dates members of staff in “Probation Service Officer” grades are promoted to “Probation Officer” grades as a proxy. We can tell that 82% of those who were promoted between 1 June 2014, which was the creation of the National Probation Service, and 30 June 2019, 82% remained within the Probation Service for at least 48 months.
Notes
Data source is the Single Operating Platform (SOP) database system.
Promotions relate to staff moving to a more senior grade through an internal process.
Each individual is only counted once.
If an individual had more than one promotion date, either as a temporary move followed by a permanent move then the date of the first movement is taken.
Information is as at 30 June 2023. Data for Staff movements after 30 June 2019 are not included as they will have been in post for less than 48 months.
If a member of staff leaves Probation Service but still stays in HMPPS e.g. moves to HMPPS HQ team, then they are still regarded as having left Probation Service for the purposes of this analysis.
Even if an individual remains in Probation Service, they may not necessarily stay as a Probation Officer and may be promoted or move internally to a non-Probation Officer role.
The National Probation Service (NPS), was created on 1 June 2014 and staff in the Probation Trusts joined HMPPS as civil servants. Data for staff prior to this date is not available.
The figures above do not reflect actual levels of staff in post as staff can arrive externally or via transfers from private sector providers such as Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs).
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of Community Payback supervisors employed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The new unified Probation Service launched in England and Wales in 2021. The Probation Service now has responsibility for unpaid work delivery, which had previously been the responsibility of Community Rehabilitation Companies, as such we do not have staffing data before 2022.
Table One: Staff in Post (Headcount and FTE) for HMPPS staff with the job title 'Community Payback Supervisor'
NPS.Community Payback Supervisor Band 3 | Apr-22 | Apr-23 |
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) | 446.4 | 614.0 |
Headcount | 583 | 757 |
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Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of offenders who have had employment on release in each of the last 12 years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We remain committed to increasing the number of prison leavers securing employment on release. The proportion of persons released from custody employed at six months from their release rose by almost two thirds between April 2021 and March 2022. This is an increase of 9 percentage points from 14% to 23%.
We do not hold the information for the period requested for the reasons stated below.
Employment on release was collected for a prison Key Performance Indicator which ran from 2007/08 to 2014/15. This data was based on self-reporting by prisoners at the point of discharge from custody, with no requirement for supporting evidence, and was discontinued in light of concerns over the reliability of the data. It was replaced by data collected by Community Rehabilitation Companies in nDelius; a system used for the management of offenders subject to probation supervision.
Employment data collection in nDelius did not start until 2016. Specific direction to do so at the 6-week point was issued in 2021. Data prior to November 2018 is incomplete, therefore complete yearly data is provided for the 2019/20 financial year onwards and is not comparable to before November 2018.
Statistics on employment at six weeks post release are available through the following link: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on staffing in the Probation Service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The total amount budgeted and spent by Ministry of Justice on Probation Services in England and Wales for the years requested is set out in a summary table below.
Financial Year | Budget | Expenditure |
2021/22 | 782 | 787 |
2020/21 | 548 | 536 |
2019/20 | 470 | 479 |
2018/19 | 450 | 454 |
2017/18 | 437 | 414 |
Note:
- All figures in £m.
- Annual budgets are set taking into account vacancy levels and recruitment profiles.
- Data extracted from the MoJ accounting system, as per the year-end audited management accounts.
- Includes payroll costs and agency staff used to cover vacancies.
- Figures from July 2020 onwards includes costs that were transferred back to public ownership following the end of Community Rehabilitation Companies.
- In June 2021 over 7,000 staff were transferred from more than 50 legacy employers into the new unified Probation Service. This explains the payroll increase in spend and budget in 20/21 (part-year impact) and 21/22 (full year impact).
- All figures presented in nominal terms and have not been adjusted for inflationary factors.
- Data includes all Probation Services in England & Wales, Probation Reform Programme and those within Reducing Reoffending & Accommodation.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual staffing budget was for the Probation Service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The total amount budgeted and spent by Ministry of Justice on Probation Services in England and Wales for the years requested is set out in a summary table below.
Financial Year | Budget | Expenditure |
2021/22 | 782 | 787 |
2020/21 | 548 | 536 |
2019/20 | 470 | 479 |
2018/19 | 450 | 454 |
2017/18 | 437 | 414 |
Note:
- All figures in £m.
- Annual budgets are set taking into account vacancy levels and recruitment profiles.
- Data extracted from the MoJ accounting system, as per the year-end audited management accounts.
- Includes payroll costs and agency staff used to cover vacancies.
- Figures from July 2020 onwards includes costs that were transferred back to public ownership following the end of Community Rehabilitation Companies.
- In June 2021 over 7,000 staff were transferred from more than 50 legacy employers into the new unified Probation Service. This explains the payroll increase in spend and budget in 20/21 (part-year impact) and 21/22 (full year impact).
- All figures presented in nominal terms and have not been adjusted for inflationary factors.
- Data includes all Probation Services in England & Wales, Probation Reform Programme and those within Reducing Reoffending & Accommodation.