| answer text |
<p>We have inherited a prison system crisis. For far too long, our hardworking staff
have had to face the brunt of prison overcrowding, which has damaged morale and put
the safety and security of staff at risk. This is one of the reasons why we have taken
difficult but necessary action to rescue the prison system from the point of collapse.
We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering
safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes.</p><p> </p><p>On recruitment, nationally
we are currently above target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges
remain in some sites with a high number of vacancies. Recruitment efforts will continue
at all sites with a current or projected future need, and we have a number of targeted
recruitment interventions that can be deployed where needed.</p><p> </p><p>There are
no specific expectations in terms of experience for a new prison officer, but all
new joiners have to pass an assessment process, and complete at least 10 weeks’ training
prior to starting their roles.</p><p> </p><p>The loss of staff post-Covid has meant
that we have significant numbers of prison officers who have recently been recruited.
Due to this large intake of new staff, many colleagues lack experience – with over
40% of Band 3-5 prison officers having less than 3 years of experience. We are focused
on retaining our dedicated staff, but we know it takes time to build confidence, capability,
and the jailcraft skills that are essential to improve the system. HMPPS have in place
over 150 New Colleague Mentors across the estate to provide support for all new staff
and improve the onboarding process. HMPPS also provides colleagues with its ‘Career
Pathways Framework’. This equips staff with information on career options and the
variety of job roles available in HMPPS, as well as learning and development programmes.</p><p>
</p><p>On prison officer joiners and leavers, data can be found in Tab 8 of the quarterly
HMPPS workforce statistics publication, with Tables 1 and 2 showing the number of
joiners and leavers in each year to the end of March over the last 5 years, as well
as the latest data in the year to the end of June. We have not included Bands 4 and
5 in the joiner data, as we recruit these grades through promotion, apart from re-instatements.</p><p>
</p><p><strong>Table 1 – Prison Officer joiners</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td
colspan="8"><p><strong>Time series - 12 months to end of each year</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Grade</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2020</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2021</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2022</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2023</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2024</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>30-Jun-2024</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bands
3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists)</p></td><td><p>4,738</p></td><td><p>2,301</p></td><td><p>2,409</p></td><td><p>3,842</p></td><td><p>4,312</p></td><td><p>4,818</p></td><td><p>4,819</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><strong>Table 2 – Prison Officer leavers</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td
colspan="8"><p><strong>Time series - 12 months to end of each year</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Grade</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2020</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2021</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2022</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2023</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31-Mar-2024</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>30-Jun-2024</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Band
5 / Custodial Managers</p></td><td><p>65</p></td><td><p>91</p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>91</p></td><td><p>97</p></td><td><p>103</p></td><td><p>104</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Band
4 / Supervising Officer</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>88</p></td><td><p>155</p></td><td><p>156</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>138</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bands
3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists)</p></td><td><p>2,437</p></td><td><p>2,596</p></td><td><p>1,950</p></td><td><p>3,141</p></td><td><p>3,078</p></td><td><p>2,907</p></td><td><p>2,926</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>To provide the number of prison officers in supervisory roles with less than
one year’s experience, we have provided data on Band 4 Supervising Officers, whose
role includes overseeing the daily regime of a wing or area of the prison. Tab 4 of
the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication gives data on staff length of
service for the main operational grades, including Band 3-5 officers. On 30 June 2024
there were four 'Band 4 / Supervising Officer' prison officers in post who had less
than one year's experience. The length of service is calculated from the most recent
hire date within HMPPS, not from them starting a specific role. It should be noted
that if these members of staff were previously employed by HMPPS, left and rejoined,
only their latest service would be counted.</p>
|
|
