Official Statistics

HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2023

Updated 22 May 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Main Points

62,219 FTE (full time equivalent) staff in post	This is an increase of 3,782 FTE (6.5%) staff in post compared to 31 March 2022, driven by 12.5% increase in probation staff, and an increase of 2,350 FTE (3.9%) since 31 December 2022. Of the staff in post, there were 35,190 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 19,850 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,592 FTE staff in HQ and Area Services, and 1,587 FTE in the Youth Custody Service (YCS).
22,288 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post	This is a slight increase of 287 FTE (1.3%) since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 655 FTE (3.0%) prison officers compared to 31 December 2022.
5,310 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post	This is an increase of 227 FTE (4.5%) since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 141 FTE (2.7%) operational support staff since 31 December 2022.
4,413 FTE band 4 probation officers in post	This is a slight increase of 76 FTE (1.7%) since 31 March 2022 and a slight decrease of 50 FTE (1.1%) compared to 31 December 2022 and a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to December 22 figure in last publication. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 6,950 FTE band 3 probation services officers: an increase of 846 FTE (13.9%) since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 741 FTE (11.9%) since 31 December 2022.
Leaving rate of 14.6% amongst band 3-5 prison officers	This is no change (0.0 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 12.5%, which is similar (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 of 12.6%.
Leaving rate of 7.5% amongst band 4 Probation officers	This is a slight decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 and a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to December 22 figure in last publication. The leaving rate of band 3 probation services officer over the past 12 months was 12.4%, which is no substantial change compared to the year ending 31 March 2022.

This publication provides details of staffing levels, staff inflows and outflows, sickness absence rates, and protected characteristics for the directly employed workforce of HMPPS. Information presented covers PSP, the Probation Service, the YCS, and HMPPS headquarters, which includes Area Services that provide direct operational support to prisons. Technical details and explanatory notes can be found in the accompanying Guide to HM Prison and Probation (HMPPS) Workforce Statistics.

Statistician’s comment

In this publication we are reporting on the HMPPS workforce as at 31 March 2023.

As at March 2023, there were 62,219 FTE staff in post, an increase of 3,782 FTE compared to March 2022. This increase was mainly due to increases in staff in Probation Service which saw an increase of 2,202 FTE since March 2022. We have accelerated the recruitment of trainee Probation Officers in recent year and this has resulted in recruitment of 1,514 trainee Probation Officers the 2022/23 financial year. Prisons (including YCS) saw an increase of 1,026 FTE over the same period.

Leaving rates fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly due to increased uncertainty in the employment market. The latest leaving rates are now higher than pre-pandemic levels however they have remained relatively stable over the last 12 months.

HMPPS staff sickness accounted for an average of 12.6 working days per person lost for the 12 months to the end of March 2023. This is 2.4 working days higher than the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020 but is also 1.1 working days lower than for the years ending 31 March 2022. For the 12 months to the end of March 2023, the main reason for sickness was Mental and Behavioural Disorders (33.2% of absences) followed by Musculoskeletal System (16.2%) and then Epidemic/Pandemic (13.9% of absences).

Points to note

HM Prison and Probation Service

HMPPS is focused on supporting operational delivery and the effective running of prison and probation services across the public and private sectors. HMPPS works with a number of partners to carry out the sentences given by the courts, either in custody or the community. This publication covers the reporting period up to 31 March 2023 and therefore considers in detail quarterly staffing levels and staff inflows and outflows, for HMPPS and its predecessors, since 2016.

For ease, the statistics in this publication will be referred to as those of the HMPPS workforce (i.e. staff working in HMPPS and with a contract of employment with HMPPS, excluding those on career breaks and those on secondment or loan outside of HMPPS but including staff on secondment or loan into HMPPS).

Staff employed by private sector establishments and other contractors are excluded. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were private-sector suppliers of Probation and Prison-based rehabilitative services for offenders in England and Wales. In late June 2021, more than 7,000 staff from the CRCs came together with probation staff already in the public sector to form the new Probation Service. Prior to this movement, staff employed by CRCs were excluded.

Annex on HMPPS recruitment diversity

This annex with experimental statistics present figures on Prison Officer and Operational Support Grade (OSG) recruitment by diversity charateristics. From June 2021, recruitment statistics was introduced for HMPPS overall, HMPPS HQ, Public Sector Prisons and the Probation Service as well. This annex runs on a six-monthly production cycle, and is only included in the June and December editions.

Annex on Probation Officer Vacancies and Trainees

As of the June 2019 publication, this annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, and their required staffing level, in addition it shows the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.

Annex on ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ recruitment

This annex, which was introduced in 2022, has been added to this bulletin and presents figures on staff recruited as part of the ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ recruitment campaign. This campaign started in April 2022. It is a simple one table annex and is expected to be repeated biannually, in the March and September publications. All externally advertised roles, at all grades across MoJ, utilize the Great place to work for Veterans scheme. This scheme allows eligible veterans to opt into the scheme, providing the opportunity for a guaranteed interview if they meet the minimum sift standard for that vacancy. Further information can be found at: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/great-place-to-work-for-veterans/. Unfortunately due to data recording issues, the annex has not been included in this release but will be in the next publication.

Organisational Changes in last two years

• In June 2022 around 1,000 Approved Premises staff were moved out of HQ directorates and back into Probation Service. This reverses a move from November and December 2019, when over 1,200 NPS staff moved to the Community and Interventions directorate, part of HMPPS HQ and Areas Services. As part of these changes two additional teams were moved in March 2023; AP Professionalisation Project and AP Counter Terrorism and Drug Strategy were moved out the of the HQ directorate of Reducing Reoffending & Accommodation and into Probation directorate of National Approved Premises. Figures for all historical periods have been revised to reflect this change.

• HMP Aylesbury was part of the Long Term & High Security Estate but moved to South Central Region in October 2022.

• The Prison region of Immigration Removal Centre and Foreign National Centre (IRCs and FNCs) group was officially disbanded at the end of March 2021 and the prisons within it were moved to be managed by their respective geographical regions:

Morton Hall – East Midlands

Huntercombe – South Central

Maidstone – Kent, Surrey and Sussex

• 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 to form the new Probation Service. Records are still being updated following this change, resulting in some entries being classified as ‘unknown’ in the accompanying tables. In addition, many of the new staff had not been able to update their voluntary declarations on diversity information at the time of joining, which has led to an initial drop in recorded declaration rates for many of the indicators, as can be seen in Table 5d, of the accompanying tables.

• From April 2021 the Probation Service has been undergoing a reorganisation, with staff moving into new Probation Delivery Units (PDUs).

Future Plans

For future publications we are considering ways in which we can improve the bulletin, and some of the issues we may look into are as follows:

• How to make the tables and presentation of the figures more user-friendly.

• Whether to and how to expand the range of information provided.

If you have any particular comments or views on the above, or any other aspects you would like to be considered about this bulletin, please contact us at the address given at the end of the publication.

1. Total HMPPS staff in post

---

62,219 FTE staff in post (as at 31 March 2023)

This is an increase of 3,782 FTE (6.5%) staff in post since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 2,350 FTE (3.9%) since 31 December 2022. Of the staff in post, there were 35,190 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 19,850 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,592 FTE staff in HQ and Area Services, and 1,587 FTE in the YCS.

---

As at 31 March 2023, there were 62,219 FTE staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis (Figure 1). This includes 35,190 FTE staff in PSP (making up 56.6% of all HMPPS staff), 19,850 FTE in the Probation Service (31.9% of all HMPPS staff), 5,592 FTE in HMPPS HQ and Area Services (9.0% of all HMPPS staff), and 1,587 FTE in the YCS (2.6% of all HMPPS staff).

Compared to 31 March 2022, the overall staff numbers increased by 3,782 FTE (6.5%): FTE in PSP increased by 1,011 (3.0%), FTE in the Probation Service increased by 2,202 (12.5%), FTE in HQ and Area Services increased by 554 (11.0%), and FTE in the YCS slightly increased by 15 (1.0%).

As at 31 March 2023, there were 28,623 FTE (46.0% of HMPPS staff) operational prison service staff (including YCS staff). This is a slight increase of 531 FTE staff (1.9%) compared to 31 March 2022. Non-operational roles across PSP, YCS, and HMPPS HQ accounted for 13,468 FTE staff (21.6% of HMPPS staff), which is an increase of 1,028 FTE (8.3%) since 31 March 2022. There were 20,128 FTE staff^{[footnote 2]} in the Probation Service (32.4% of all HMPPS staff): an increase of 2,223 (12.4%) FTE since 31 March 2022.

Figure 1 shows a big increase in Probation Service staff in June 2021, which was due to more than 7,000 staff from private sector CRCs coming together with probation staff already in the public sector in the new Probation Service.

Figure 1: Number of HMPPS staff in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 1)

1.1 Length of Service

Due to increased turnover and high numbers of new joiners the average length of service of HMPPS employees has decreased over the last year. Across HMPPS overall, 32.4% of FTE staff in post had less than 3 years’ service, which was an increase from 27.2% at 31 March 2022 and an increase from 29.9% at 31 December 2022. 29.5% of HMPPS FTE staff in post had 10 years or more of experience, representing a decrease from 33.8% at 31 March 2022 and a slight decrease from 31.1% at 31 December 2022.

The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers with less than 3 years’ service at 31 March 2023 rose to 35.6% compared to 29.2% as at 31 March 2022. The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers in post with 10 years or more of experience decreased by 5.6 percentage points from 36.6% at 31 March 2022 to 31.1% at 31 March 2023.

This corresponds to 6,921 FTE staff with 10 years or more of experience at 31 March 2023, which is a fall of 1,135 FTE, or 14.1% since 31 March 2022. The proportion of band 2 OSG FTE staff with less than 3 years’ service increased from 41.5% at 31 March 2022 to 49.0% at 31 March 2023, and the proportion of those with 10 years or more of experience decreased from 34.8% at 31 March 2022 to 29.1% at 31 March 2023.

It should be noted, that the National Probation Service was created on 1 June 2014 and the service of Probation Service staff in Probation Trusts prior to the creation of the Probation Service is not included. Therefore, the figures relating to the length of service of Probation Service staff, which are included in the HMPPS overall figures, do not necessarily represent their full experience but rather the length of service from entry to HMPPS. The situation is different for the over 7,000 staff who transferred from the CRCs in June 2021 and for them their service prior to their date of transfer is included.

Excluding the Probation Service, 31.6% of FTE staff in post across HMPPS had less than 3 years’ service as at 31 March 2023. This is an increase of 4.8 percentage points compared to 31 March 2022. The non-Probation Service staff with 10 years’ experience or more made up 36.6% of the workforce, which is a 4.7 percentage points decrease compared to 31 March 2022.

Length of service information has been calculated for HMPPS staff from the most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another government department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.

2. Band 3-5 prison officers and band 2 operational support staff

---

22,288 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post (as at 31 March 2023)

This is a slight increase of 287 FTE (1.3%) in FTE since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 655 FTE (3.0%) prison officers compared to 31 December 2022.

5,310 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post (as at 31 March 2023)

This corresponds to an increase of 227 FTE (4.5%) since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 141 FTE (2.7%) operational support staff since 31 December 2022.

The key operational grades in public sector prisons are the band 3 to 5 prison officers. They consist of band 3 prison officers, band 4 officer specialists, band 4 supervising officers, and band 5 custodial managers.

---

Figure 2: Number of band 3-5 prison officers in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 3)

Figure 3 shows a quarterly trend of band 3 to 5 appointments and leavers since 2016/17. Over the year to 31 March 2023, 4,663 band 3 to 5 officers were appointed (consisting of direct new recruits and existing staff who converted to a band 3 officer grade), an increase of 510 (12.3%) compared to 4,153 in the previous year. Looking at the quarterly figures, the headcount of new band 3 to 5 officer appointments increased by 563 (52.3%) from 1,077 between October and December 2022 to 1,640 between January and March 2023 (Table 17).

The headcount of band 3 to 5 prison officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 31 March 2023 was 3,331, which is a decrease of 56 (1.7%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. Leaving rates fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly due to increased uncertainty in the employment market. Leaving rates in the last year have remained broadly stable. Examining reasons for leaving, 66.6% of prison officers who left in the year ending 31 March 2023 resigned from their roles (down from 73.9% in the year ending 31 March 2022). Of the other prison officers who left HMPPS, 15.6% were dismissed and 5.7% retired in the year ending 31 March 2023: the proportion dismissed are up from 10.6% compared to previous year while the number retiring are down from 7.3%.

Figure 3: Newly appointed band 3 to 5 prison officers and band 3 to 5 prison officer leavers, April 2016 to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 17)

The number of band 2 OSG staff who joined HMPPS in the year ending 31 March 2023 was 1,930: an increase of 492 (34.2%) compared to the previous year ending 31 March 2022. There was an increase of 88 (4.8%) since the year ending 31 December 2022. The headcount number of band 2 OSG staff who left HMPPS was 1,060, which is an increase of 78 (7.9%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 and a decrease of 7 (0.7%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2022.

Joiners and leavers are not the only movements into and out of the band 3 to 5 officer grouping. There are also typically differences in the proportion of new joiners and older officers who work part time as well as movements between grades, such as internal movements to non-frontline roles or promotions to operational managers. Changes such as staff switching from full time to part time also have the effect of reducing the FTE of officers available as they progress through their career. For these reasons, the change in FTE does not directly reflect the difference between the number of joiners and leavers.

3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers

---

4,413 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 31 March 2023)

This figure is a slight increase of 76 FTE (1.7%) since 31 March 2022 and a slight decrease of 50 FTE (1.1%) probation officers compared to 31 December 2022. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 6,950 FTE band 3 probation services officers: an increase of 846 FTE (13.9%) since 31 March 2022 and an increase of 741 FTE (11.9%) since 31 December 2022.

---

Key grades in the Probation Service include band 3 probation services officers, band 4 probation officers (collectively known as probation practitioners), as well as band 5 senior probation officers. Staff who are training to be a probation officer work as a probation services officer during their training, so a proportion of the probation services officers in post will be working towards the professional probation officer qualification.

As of the June 2019 publication, a statistics annex has been added to this bulletin which presents figures on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, in addition to the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.

As at 31 March 2023 there were 6,950 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, an increase of 846 FTE (13.9%) over the past year and an increase of 741 FTE (11.9%) over the quarter; 4,413 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing a slight increase of 76 FTE (1.7%) over the past year and a slight decrease of 50 FTE (1.1%) compared to the previous quarter; and 1,435 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing an increase of 186 (14.9%) over the previous year and an increase of 70 (5.1%) since the last quarter (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Number of probation officers, probation services officers and senior probation officers in post on an FTE basis, 31 March 2017 to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 3)

In the past year, 2,385 probation services officers were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified probation officers. This is an increase of 1,143 (92.0%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 and an increase of 565 (31.0%) compared to the number appointed in the year ending 31 December 2022. Within the Probation Service, there were 4,387 FTE Probation Officers in post, a shortfall of 1,771 FTE against the required staffing level of 6,158 FTE. There were 2,636 staff, equivalent to 2,626 FTE, undertaking the PQiP training as at 31 March 2023 (please refer to the Probation Officer recruitment annex for more details).

In the past year, 832 probation services officers left the service. This is an increase of 110 (15.2%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 and a decrease of 27 (3.1%) compared to the number who left in the year ending 31 December 2022.The number of leavers has increased considerably since June 2021, which is likely attributable to competition in the labour market

4. Joiners and Leavers

---

Leaving rate of 14.6% amongst band 3-5 prison officers (for the 12 months ending 31 March 2023)

This is no change (0.0 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 12.5%, which is similar (a decrease of 0.1 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 of 12.6%

---

Over the past year, 11,662 staff joined HMPPS, which is an increase of 3,504 (43.0%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. These joiners consisted of 6,928 across PSP, 341 in the YCS, 4,081 in the Probation Service, and 312 in HMPPS HQ and Area Services. Compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 these numbers of joiners represent an increase of 21.1% for PSP, an increase of 17.6% for YCS, an increase of 122.6% for Probation Service, and no substantial change for HMPPS HQ and Area Services.

Looking at the large increases in Probation Service we have accelerated the recruitment of trainee Probation Officers in recent years. This has resulted in recruitment of 1,514 trainee Probation Officers the 2022/23 financial year. This resource is included in the Band 3 Probation Service Officers grade and therefore influenced the increase in joiners seen at this grade. Last year, we established a unified model of recruitment for key operational grades, including Band 3 Probation Service Officers in priority regions. This focused and enhanced model has resulted in a volume of new joiners at this grade.

There were 8,016 leavers in the year ending 31 March 2023, an increase of 252 (3.2%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. This includes 5,202 leavers from PSP (a decrease of 2.0%), 275 from YCS (an increase of 37.5%), 2,098 from the Probation Service (an increase of 10.0%), and 441 from HMPPS HQ and Area Services (an increase of 26.7%).

4.1 Leaving Rates^{[footnote 3]}

The overall HMPPS leaving rate for the year to 31 March 2023 was 12.5%, which is broadly the same as for the year to 31 March 2022 (Figure 5); a decrease of -0.1 percentage points . For the year up to 31 March 2021 the increased uncertainty in the employment market following the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the drop in the number of resignations during most of the year, therefore impacting on the overall reduced leaving and resignation rates. The latest leaving rates are now higher than pre-pandemic levels however they have remained relatively stable over the last 12 months.

Figure 5: Annual leaving rates of permanent staff in key operational grades (excluding VEDSR), from the 12 months to 31 March 2017 to the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 11)

4.2 Resignation Rates^{[footnote 4]}

The overall HMPPS resignation rate for the 12 months to 31 March 2023 was 8.1%, which is a decrease (8.6%) as for the year to 31 March 2022 (Figure 6). For band 3-5 officers, the resignation rate was 9.7% in the year ending 31 March 2023, which is a slight decrease of 1.1 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2022. The resignation rate for OSG staff was 14.0% for the year ending 31 March 2023, which is a slight increase of 0.9 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2022.

For Probation Service overall, the resignation rate was 7.0% for the year ending 31 March 2023. This represents no change (0.0 percentage points) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022. Amongst the operational grades within the Probation Service, probation services officers had the highest resignation rate at 9.7%, no substantial change 0.4 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2022.

Figure 6: Annual resignation rates of permanent staff in key operational grades, from the 12 months to 31 March 2017 to the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 12)

5. Sickness absence

---

HMPPS staff lost an average of 12.6 working days to sickness absence in the 12 months ending 31 March 2023 (including COVID sickness)

This represents a decrease of 1.1 average working days lost (AWDL) compared to the year ending 31 March 2022 (13.8 working days lost).

---

Since June 2021, these sickness absence figures include COVID-19 AWDL sickness numbers, including a revision to all AWDL figures since the start of the pandemic.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, HMPPS staff lost an average of 12.6 working days to sickness absence. This is a decrease from 13.8 average working days lost for the year ending 31 March 2022, and an increase of 2.4 days compared to the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020.

YCS staff had the highest sickness absence rate at 18.4 AWDL, followed by PSP (13.4 AWDL), Probation Service (12.7 AWDL), and HQ and Area Services (6.0 AWDL) (Figure 7). Compared to the year ending 31 March 2022, these represent no substantial change for YCS, a decrease of 1.7 days for PSP, a decrease of 0.2 days for Probation Service, and an increase of 0.3 days for HQ and Area Services staff.

Figure 7: Average working days lost to sickness absence, 12 months to 31 March 2017 to 12 months to 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 18)

The most common category of sickness absence in terms of days lost was mental and behavioural disorders, corresponding to 33.2% of absences in the past year. This category was most prevalent for probation officers, where 55.2% of working days lost were attributed to mental and behavioural disorders.

For HMPPS overall, the category that accounted for the second largest proportion of working days lost was musculoskeletal system (16.2%). Together the top two categories accounted for 49.4% of all working days lost.

6. Equality and Diversity

Data on the protected characteristics of ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and religion/belief are collected from self-declared, non-compulsory fields. Consequently, only figures for which declaration rates have reached a threshold of 60% or above have been reported in the following section.

For staff in post as at 31 March 2023 the main representation rates were as follows; 54.9% of staff were female, 12.6% were ethnic minorities, 16.7% disabled, 7.4% were LGB and 8.7% were non-Christian.

For new staff joining in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 the main representation rates were as follows; 58.3% of staff were female, 11.4% disabled, 10.5% were LGB and 9.9% were non-Christian. Declaration rates for ethnicity are below 60% so are therefore not reported.

For staff leaving in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 the main representation rates were as follows; 51.6% of staff were female, 13.6% were ethnic minority, 16.5% disabled, 9.2% were LGB and 9.4% were non-Christian.

6.1 Age

The largest individual age group across all of HMPPS at 31 March 2023 was 30-39 year olds with 16,156 staff (24.5%). The number of staff aged under 30 increased by 1,708 in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 compared to the previous year and made up 21.2% of the HMPPS workforce.

HQ and Area Services had the oldest workforce, consisting of 57.7% of staff who were aged 40 or over. This is compared to 56.2% among Probation Service staff, 53.4% among PSP staff, and 42.2% among YCS staff.

Those aged under 30 make up the highest proportion of joiners (48.9%) overall, and those aged under 30 make up the highest proportion of leavers (30.7%) overall.

Figure 8: Age of HMPPS staff, as at 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 5)

6.2 Gender

As at 31 March 2023, 54.9% of HMPPS staff overall were female, which is a slight increase compared to 53.6% the previous year. Female representation was highest within the Probation Service at 75.6%, compared to 63.6% in HQ and Area Services, 48.1% in the YCS, and 41.9% in PSP.

Across all of HMPPS, over the 12 months to 31 March 2023, 58.3% of joiners and 51.6% of leavers were female.

Figure 9: Gender of HMPPS staff, as at 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 5)

6.3 Full time/part time status

Full time/part time is a status that may fluctuate across an individual’s career. Part time as a grouping covers a wide range of working patterns and working hours. Within HMPPS overall, 14.4% of the workforce were identified as working part time, representing no substantial change compared to the previous year.

Working on a part time basis is more common amongst staff in the Probation Service. As at 31 March 2023, 19.7% of Probation Service staff were working part time, compared to 12.5% of staff in PSP, 9.2% of staff in YCS, and 8.4% of staff in HQ and Area Services.

Only 7.9% of joiners identified as working part time, which is to be expected given this period usually marks the start of an individual’s career, whilst 15.3% of leavers were recognised as having part time status.

Figure 10: Working pattern of HMPPS staff, as at 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 5)

6.4 Ethnicity

As at 31 March 2023, 12.6% of HMPPS staff who had declared their ethnicity were from ethnic minorities backgrounds, which is a slight increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous year.

PSP had the lowest representation rate with 9.8% of staff who declared their ethnicity being ethnic minority (a slight increase of 0.7 percentage points since 31 March 2022), compared to 13.2% of staff in HQ and Area Services (no substantial change since 31 March 2022), 17.1% of staff in Probation Service (no substantial change since 31 March 2022), and 18.6% of staff in YCS (a slight increase of 1.8 percentage points since 31 March 2022).

In the 12 months to 31 March 2023, 13.6% of leavers across all of HMPPS who had declared their ethnicity were from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Figure 11: Ethnicity of HMPPS staff, as at 31 March 2023 (Source: Table 5)

6.5 Other Protected Characteristics

From March 2020, most of the declaration rates for disability, religion/belief, and sexual orientation for HMPPS overall, PSP, YCS, HQ & Area Services, and Probation Service were for the first time above the 60% threshold for reporting.

As at 31 March 2023, 16.7% of HMPPS staff who had declared their disability status were disabled. PSP had the lowest representation rate with 13.1% of staff who declared their disability status being disabled, compared to 13.4% of staff in YCS, 16.0% of staff in HQ and Area Services, and 23.1% of staff in Probation Service.

In the 12 months to 31 March 2023, 11.4% of joiners and 16.5% of leavers across all of HMPPS who had declared their disability status were disabled.

As at 31 March 2023, LGB staff represented 7.4% of HMPPS staff who had declared their sexual orientation. HQ and Area Services had the lowest representation rate with 7.0% of staff who declared their sexual orientation identifying as LGB, compared to 7.3% of staff in Probation Service, 7.3% of staff in YCS, and 7.5% of staff in PSP.

In the 12 months to 31 March 2023, 10.5% of joiners and 9.2% of leavers across all of HMPPS who had declared their sexual orientation were LGB.

As at 31 March 2023, 8.7% of HMPPS staff who had declared their religion or belief followed another (non-Christian) religion. PSP had the lowest representation rate with 7.4% of staff following a non-Christian religion, compared to 9.0% of staff in HQ and Area Services, 10.4% of staff in Probation Service, and 12.2% of staff in YCS.

In the 12 months to 31 March 2023, 9.9% of joiners and 9.4% of leavers across all of HMPPS who had declared their religion were non-Christian.

No data are currently presented or available for the other protected characteristics of Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity.

Data are not collected for Gender Reassignment as those in receipt of gender recognition certificates are recorded as their legal gender, and are not identified as being transgender in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010.

Further Information

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A technical guide providing details of the HMPPS workforce structure as well as how the data are collected and processed. Information on the revisions policy and disclosure relevant to HMPPS staffing data is also included.

• A set of summary tables for the latest quarter and year as well as over time.

• A supplementary annex presenting statistics on Probation Officers in post, their required staffing level, and the number of trainee and qualified Probation Officers.

Official statistics

The statistics in this bulletin are classified as official statistics. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 defines ‘official statistics’ as all those statistical outputs produced by the UK Statistics Authority’s executive office (the Office for National Statistics), by central Government departments and agencies, by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and by other Crown bodies (over 200 bodies in total). The statistics in this bulletin comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Code encourages and supports producers of statistics to maintain their independence and to ensure adequate resourcing for statistical production. It helps producers and users of statistics by setting out the necessary principles and practices to produce statistics that are trustworthy, high quality and of public value.

Experimental Statistics

Experimental statistics are a subset of newly developed or innovative official statistics undergoing evaluation. They are developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics (HoP) and published to involve users and stakeholders in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage. Therefore, we would like to receive feedback as to how useful they are, whether a different analysis would be preferable, or any other comments about them. If you wish to send any views you may have about these experimental statistics, please use the contact details below.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:

Tel: 020 3334 3536

Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Rob Hartley

Workforce Statistics & Analysis

Data and Analysis Directorate

Ministry of Justice

10 South Colonnade

London

E14 4PH

Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Next update: 17 August 2023

URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics

© Crown copyright

Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Alternative formats are available on request from statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk

1. This includes staff in Probation Service grades working in other parts of HMPPS. ↩

2. Percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who left HMPPS, including individuals who have retired early, but excluding staff who left due to voluntary early departure schemes and redundancy (VEDSR). ↩

3. Percentage of staff with a permanent contract of employment who resigned from HMPPS. ↩