To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent levels of (1) retention, and (2) cumulative experience, of prison officers.
Answered on
26 May 2022
HMPPS does not have a standard definition of ‘retention rates’ however we do publish information on leaving rates which can be used as a proxy. The leaving rate is the number of staff who have left the department in the previous 12 months divided by the average number of people in post over the same period of time. Figures for leaving rates to 31 December 2021 are available in published workforce statistics here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-december-2021
Figures for leaving rates by grade can be found in the table 11 of the Excel tables accompanying the publication.
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all Band 3-5 Prison Officer as at 31st December 2021 is 240,501 years, based on a headcount of 23,123 staff or 22,156 Full Time Equivalent. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.