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<p><strong>Total Band 3-5 Prison Officer indicative vacancies (FTE) across Public
Sector Prison Establishments in England & Wales, June 2023</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Indicative
vacancies (FTE)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-23</p></td><td><p>879</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We
have only provided data for June 2023, aligning with the most recent data published
in the HMPPS Workforce Quarterly Statistics (scheduled for 16 November 2023). This
is because vacancy figures, whilst not published are linked to information that will
be released shortly and could therefore prejudice the proper release of that data.
Therefore we are only able to provide a limited response.</p><p>We are doing more
than ever to attract and retain the best staff, including boosting salaries and launching
our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign.</p><p>These efforts are working -
we have hired over 4,000 additional officers since March 2017 and retention rates
for prison staff are improving.</p><ul><li>All data is taken from Workforce Planning
Tools and shows the average position across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers
in the month.</li><li>Data only covers prison establishments and will not reflect
any Band 3 – 5 Prison Officers who are working in headquarters establishments.</li><li>Workforce
Planning Tool returns are manually completed by staff in prisons each month and, as
with any manual returns, are subject to human error.</li><li>Indicative vacancies
are the difference between Target Staffing and Staff in Post across the entire England
& Wales prison estate.</li><li>Target Staffing 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.</li><li>The Target Staffing Figures
are set on a site-specific basis and vary in size.</li><li>Band 3-5 Officers includes
Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers,
and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.</li><li>Target Staffing levels are established based
on a 39-hour working week. Staff in Post (FTE) is set at 1.0 FTE for those on a 39-hour
contract / 1.05 FTE for those on a 41-hour contract and 0.95 FTE for those on a 37-hour
contract.</li><li>Staff in Post data used to calculate an indicative number of vacancies
does not take into account those on long-term absences (e.g. career breaks) / loans
/ secondments / agency staff or other forms of overtime.</li><li>Where prisons are
not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using
Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy
data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from
one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.</li><li>The
above figure is a combination of indicative vacancies at prisons with Staff in Post
below their Target Staffing level and the indicative number of surplus staff at other
prisons where Staff in Post is above their Target Staffing level. In reality, prisons
with surplus staff are likely to be sending those staff to work on Detached Duty at
prisons with vacancies, and therefore netting vacancies against surpluses is a fair
reflection of the overall national position.</li></ul>
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