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1699087

registered interest
date	26/03/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number of probation officers required to support prisoners granted early release.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	20693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an extra £155 million a year and onboarded over 4,000 trainee probation officers over the last three years.</p><p>As announced on 11 March, we will reset probation so that practitioners prioritise early engagement at the point where offenders are most likely to breach their licence conditions, allowing frontline staff to maximise supervision of the most serious offenders.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/04/2024 09:50:18 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1688274

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of probation officer caseload.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	13546
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year since 2021 to recruit staff, bring down caseloads and deliver better supervision of offenders in the community.</p><p> </p><p>We have also accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers, particularly in areas with the most significant staffing challenges. As a result, over 4,000 trainees, a record number, have started on training courses between April 2020 and March 2023. These intakes will qualify by the end of 2024 and will have a direct impact on reducing caseloads.</p><p> </p><p>The Probation Service is constantly monitoring staffing levels and retention, specifically in hard to recruit to areas, which remain challenging. We continue to take tactical decisions to mitigate the risk in sites where it is most acute, as well as taking forward several non-pay related activities to improve retention.</p><p> </p><p>From September 2022 to September 2023, the Probation Service saw an increase in staff of 11.8%, Senior Probation Officers saw an increase of 13%, and Probation Officers saw an increase of 6.9%.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 19/02/2024 09:48:41 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1684081

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of probation officers per grade that left the probation service in (a) 2023 and (b) 2022.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	10821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2024 answer text <p>The number of leavers from HMPPS by grade is published every quarter in Table 8c of the “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The main publication can be accessed via this link: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics</a>.</p><p>The latest accompanying tables are here: (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554ab3750475b000dc5b614/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-sep-2023.ods" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554ab3750475b000dc5b614/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-sep-2023.ods</a>).</p><p>Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service. 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.</p><p>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 will increase Probation Officer staffing numbers.  We continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions alongside regional recruitment to help bolster the number of applications and improve time to hire for key operational roles.</p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 25/01/2024 12:40:23 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1684083

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of vacancies per region in the probation service at the end of 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	10822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2024 answer text <p><strong>Table One: Vacancies across Probation Service Regions, September 2023, all Probation Service grades</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Probation Service Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Vacancies (FTE)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS East Midlands</p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS East of England</p></td><td><p>274</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS Greater Manchester</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS Kent, Surrey &amp; Sussex</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS London</p></td><td><p>457</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS North East</p></td><td><p>32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS North West</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS South Central</p></td><td><p>176</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS South West</p></td><td><p>74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS Wales</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS West Midlands</p></td><td><p>32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PS Yorkshire &amp; the Humber</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Approved Premises</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data shows average resource across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers within the month. Data shown as of September 2023, aligning with the most recent HMPPS Workforce Quarterly publication. More recent data cannot be provided due to potentially pre-empting future statistical publications.</p><p>Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service. 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.</p><p>We continue to focus efforts on enhanced, centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions alongside regional recruitment to help bolster the number of applications and improve time to hire for key operational roles. We have also accelerated recruitment of trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) to increase staffing levels, particularly in Probation Delivery Units with the most significant staffing challenges. As a result, over 4,000 PQiPs joined the service between 2020/21 and 2022/23 which will increase Probation Officer staffing numbers.</p><p>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 Probation Service has also introduced a Prioritisation Framework to provide clarity on prioritisation of tasks and what can be reduced/paused when capacity issues begin to impact on operational delivery.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Notes</em></strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><ol><li>Vacancies have been calculated as Required Staffing (Full Time Equivalent - FTE) minus Staff in Post (FTE).</li><li>Where the number of Staff in Post (FTE) in a region exceeds Required Staffing (FTE), the number of vacancies has been shown as 0 FTE. Summing the figures in the table will not give the overall number of vacancies across the Probation Service due the surpluses in some regions that haven’t been shown in the table.</li><li>Vacancies have been netted off between grades and business units. As a result, the overall vacancy figures presented mask the presence of vacancies at both grade and business unit level.</li><li>Data have been taken from the Workforce Planning Tool and are subject to inaccuracy as a result of the manual nature with which returns are completed. This approach differs from the published statistics, which uses data from the Single Operating Platform (our departmental HR system).</li><li>Staff in Post (FTE) has not been adjusted for long-term absences (e.g. Trainee Probation Officer training time). In addition, we have not factored in loans / temporary cover / agency and sessional.The actual resourced position will therefore differ as a result of these.</li><li>Trainee Probation Officers are included in the data. Trainees spend a proportion of their time training and the remainder of their time carrying out work at a Band 3 PSO level. Both training time and time spent delivering caseload are included in the Staff in Post (FTE) calculations, which means that number of vacancies is lower than the actual gap between Required Staffing and frontline delivery.</li></ol></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 25/01/2024 16:07:43 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1684085

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of probation officers with more than four years service that resigned from the probation service in 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	10824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2024 answer text <p>The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including leavers, and the latest publication covers data up to 30 September 2023. Therefore, information after 30 September is unpublished and cannot be released.</p><p>In the 12 months to 30 September 2023, there were 135 probation officers (band 4) who resigned from the probation service with more than four years of service. This includes staff who had a length of service of at least 4 years and 1 day.</p><p>Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service. 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 leaving rate decreased in the 12 months to 30 September 2023 compared to the 12 months prior.</p><p>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 will increase Probation Officer staffing numbers.  We continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions alongside regional recruitment to help bolster the number of applications and improve time to hire for key operational roles.</p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 25/01/2024 12:41:42 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1580603

registered interest
date	25/01/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of when the Probation Service will meet its required staffing level.
tabling member constituency	Cynon Valley
tabling member printed	Beth Winter
uin	132547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2023 answer text <p>This is an ever-evolving picture and is based on a variety of factors, including forecast caseload, case mix, recruitment plans, attrition and the Target Staffing level. Staffing level data is regularly monitored, ensuring plans, such as recruitment, are in place where appropriate, as well providing an assessment of affordability against the latest and forecast financial position.</p><p>In addition, we have unified the Probation Service and injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year to deliver more robust supervision, reduce caseloads and recruit thousands more staff to keep the public safer. We have recruited a record-breaking 2,500 trainee probation officers over the last two years, and we plan to recruit a further 1,500 by March 2023.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 02/02/2023 16:21:55 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4809 label Biography information for Beth Winter

1416089

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in the (a) regional and (b) national probation service teams.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	110528
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The Probation Service is committed to increasing recruitment to fill Probation Officer vacancies, particularly in regions with significant local employment market challenges. Staffing levels are monitored on an ongoing basis through operational management and plans around recruitment and retention.</p><p>In 2020/21, we recruited a record 1,007 trainee probation officers. We are further increasing our recruitment to unprecedented levels, with a target 1500 trainee Probation Officers (PQiPs) being recruited this financial year (2021/2022). A further 1,500 PQiPs to be recruited in financial year 2022/23.</p><p>Our Recruitment and Retention Strategy focuses on addressing recruitment and retention challenges within the Probation Service, particularly for those Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) with the highest average Probation Officer vacancy rates over a 12-month period.</p><p>We have identified common drivers of attrition across those regions where it is more challenging to recruit and retain probation officers. Work is currently underway to address all drivers of attrition alongside a targeted recruitment campaign to reduce probation officer vacancy rates in regions with high vacancy levels.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 01/02/2022 11:43:51 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1357434

registered interest
date	22/09/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to (a) create and (b) implement a tool to measure the workload of staff in the probation service.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	53315
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2021 answer text <p>The Probation Service uses a Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) which monitors the workloads of case holding Probation Practitioners. We are also building an in-house WMT which will eventually replace the existing one and by using internal digital capability, we will be able to swiftly make necessary changes, iterations to improve it and have the potential to include a capacity measure for other roles and functions in the service.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 22/10/2021 13:54:02 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1359291

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has received representations from probation leaders on (a) staff absences and (b) delays in face-to-face monitoring appointments linked to recent fuel shortages.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	56394
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>As a contingency, we remained in close contact with senior leaders across Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in the period where there were difficulties getting fuel to petrol stations. No groups reported staff having difficulty in reporting to work, or any subsequent regime or probation delivery difficulties as a result. There were no reports of people on probation encountering problems travelling to their appointments in the community as a result of these shortages.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 56391 question first answered 20/10/2021 15:28:25 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1356961

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) probation officers and (b) Probation Service officers have left the service every year since Transforming Rehabilitation was announced.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	51583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2021 answer text <p>The information requested, from 1st June 2014, can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics" target="_blank">Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>‘Transforming rehabilitation: a strategy for reform’ was published on 9th May 2013. The National Probation Service (NPS) came into existence on 1st June 2014. The Ministry of Justice do not hold Probation Officer or Probation Service Officers leavers data from the previous Probation Trusts’ for the period between the announcement on 9th May 2013 to the point the NPS was formed on 1st June 2014 or for Community Rehabilitation Companies from the 1st of June 2014 until the services unified in June 2021.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 28/09/2021 14:24:59 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy