HMPPS workforce statistics bulletin: June 2017
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

National Offender Management Service workforce statistics. The quarterly National Offender Management Service (NOMS) workforce statistics bulletin is designed to monitor changes to staffing figures and the structure of NOMS staff population over time. It is produced on a quarterly basis to most appropriately reflect the dynamic nature of the data included within many of the tables, and covers all civil service employees of NOMS.

Published 17 August 2017  
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service 
(HMPPS) Workforce Statistics Bulletin, 30 June 2017 
Main points 
43,403 full time equivalent 
staff in post 
 
This represents an increase of 193 (0.4%) staff in post 
since 30 June 2016 and a fall of 85 (0.2%) since 31 
March 2017. 
18,755 band 3-5 prison 
officers in post 
 
At 30 June 2017 there were 18,755 FTE officers in post, 
representing increases of 665 (3.7%) compared to 30 
June 2016 and 353 (1.9%) since 31 March 2017. This is 
the highest number of officers in post since 30 
September 2013. Over the last year, 2,930 band 3 
officers were appointed, this represents a record high 
and 85.6% increase compared to the 12 months to 30 
June 2016. 
4,478 band 2 operational 
support staff in post  
 
This corresponds to decreases of 279 (5.9%) against the 
previous year and 67 (1.5%) compared to the previous 
quarter. 
1,856 FTE band 3 
probation service officers 
and 3,523 FTE band 4 
probation officers  
 
These figures represent increases of 196 (11.8%) FTE 
probation service officers and 151 (4.5%) FTE probation 
officers over the past year. 
Leaving rate of 9.3% 
amongst band 3-5 prison 
officers 
 
This is a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to 
the year ending 31 March 2017. The overall leaving rate 
across HMPPS over the last year stood at 8.3%, a 0.4 
point fall compared to the year ending 31 March 2017.   
This publication provides details of staffing levels, staff inflows and outflows, sickness 
absence rates and protected characteristics for the directly employed workforce of the Her 
Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Information presented covers Public 
Sector Prisons, the National Probation Service (NPS) and HMPPS headquarters, including 
area services which provide direct operational support to prisons. Technical details and 
explanatory notes can be found in the accompanying Guide to HMPPS Workforce Statistics 
and an annex presents data on prison officer recruitment from job offer to staff in post. 
 
We are changing how our quarterly bulletins look, and would welcome any 
feedback to xxx@xxx.xx 
For other feedback related to the content of this publication, please let us know at 
xxx@xxx.xx  

2 
 
Points to note 
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service 
On 1 April 2017, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) replaced the National 
Offender Management Service (NOMS), an agency of the Ministry of Justice. HMPPS is 
focussed 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 30 June 2017, i.e. following the introduction of 
HMPPS, and therefore considers in detail, quarterly staffing levels and staff inflows and 
outflows for both NOMS and HMPPS since April 2010. For ease, the statistics in this 
publication will be referred to as those of the HMPPS workforce (ie. 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). Only staff in the public sector Prison Service, HMPPS HQ and Area Services as 
well as NPS are directly employed by HMPPS and therefore staffing in private sector 
establishments, community rehabilitation companies and other contractors are excluded. 
Data sources 
The findings within this publication relating to the reporting period up to 31 December 2016 
come from data stored in Oracle HRMS. Data covering the period from 1 January 2017 
onwards have been extracted from the newly introduced Single Operating Platform (SOP). 
Whilst we are confident that the statistics compiled from SOP remain of high quality, it has 
only recently come into use and figures are subject to further investigations whilst we 
continue to assess the impact of any changes. Specifically, due to data quality concerns, 
tables presenting figures on sickness absence have been excluded in this publication whilst 
the issues are investigated. It is expected that these will be re-instated in the next quarterly 
workforce publication covering the reporting period to 30 September 2017. Further details 
on caveats to consider when interpreting the findings can be found in the Guide to HMPPS 
Workforce Statistics.  
Offender Management (OM) in custody 
Implementation of the first phase of the Offender Management (OM) in custody model 
commenced in summer 2017 with the aim of making prisons safer by developing more 
rehabilitative establishments to deliver a supportive environment for both prisoners and 
staff. As a result of these changes, staff benchmarks previously in place are no longer in 
use and are being replaced by new target staffing levels under the new OM in custody 
model. Work is ongoing in order to further develop these target staffing levels. Figures on 
target staffing levels and the difference to staff in post numbers across prison 
establishments have therefore not been presented in this publication. This information will 
be included in future workforce statistics publications once the target staffing levels have 
been sufficiently developed.  
 

3 
 
1. Total staff in post 
 
43,403 full time equivalent staff in post 
This represents an increase of 193 (0.4%) staff in post since 30 June 2016 and a 
fall of 85 (0.2%) since 31 March 2017. 
 
As at 30 June 2017, there were 43,403 staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent 
(FTE) basis (Figure 1). This included 8,758 FTE staff in the National Probation Service 
(NPS) (making up 20.2% of all HMPPS staff), 31,493 (72.6% of HMPPS staff) in Public 
Sector Prisons and 3,152 (7.3% of HMPPS staff) in HMPPS HQ and Area Services.  
Compared to 31 March 2017, the overall FTE decreased by 85 (0.2%), FTE in the NPS rose 
by 65 (0.7%), FTE in Public Sector Prisons increased by 261 (0.8%) while HMPPS HQ and 
Area Services decreased FTE by 411 (11.5%).  
The decline in the number of FTE staff in post in HQ and Area services is driven by recent 
organisational changes1. Excluding these changes, the like-for-like comparison would have 
shown overall increases at HMPPS of 441 FTE (1.0%) and 568 FTE (1.3%) compared to 
the previous quarter and previous year respectively. Excluding changes in staff numbers as 
a result of earlier organisational changes, including the creation of the National Probation 
Service, transfers into MOJ and movements in and out of the private sector, the reduction in 
staff from 31 March 2010 to 30 June 2017 was 9,753 (a 22% decrease). 
Figure 1: Number of HMPPS staff in post on a FTE basis, 31 March 2010 to 30 June 
2017 (Source: Table 1) 
 
                                               
1 Whereby 526 FTE staff based at HMPPS HQ and Area Services transferred over to the Ministry of Justice as 
of 1 April 2017. Refer to the accompanying Guide to Workforce Statistics for further details. 

4 
 
At 30 June 2017, there were 24,133 FTE operational prison service staff (55.6% of HMPPS 
staff), an increase of 268 FTE staff (1.1%) compared to 31 March 2017. Non-operational 
roles across PSPs and HMPPS HQ accounted for 10,369 FTE posts (23.9% of HMPPS 
staff), a decrease of 434 FTE staff (4.0%) since 31 March 2017. In the NPS there were 
8,902 FTE, an overall increase of 81 (0.9%) against the previous quarter.  
Across HMPPS overall and excluding the NPS which was created on 1 June 2014, 26.3% of 
FTE staff in post had less than 3 years service as at 30 June 2017. This is an increase of 
1.4 percentage points compared to 31 March 2017. Those with 10 years’ experience or 
more made up 55.6% of the workforce a 0.1 percentage point decrease since the previous 
quarter.  
 
 

5 
 
2. Band 3-5 prison officers and band 2 operational support staff 
18,755 band 3-5 prison officers in post  
At 30 June 2017 there were 18,755 FTE officers in post, representing increases of 665 
(3.7%) compared to 30 June 2016 and 353 (1.9%) since 31 March 2017. This is the 
highest number of officers in post since 30 September 2013. Over the last year, 2,930 
band 3 officers were appointed, this represents a record high and 85.6% increase 
compared to the 12 months to 30 June 2016. 
4,478 band 2 operational support staff in post  
This corresponds to decreases of 279 (5.9%) against the previous year and 67 (1.5%) 
compared to the previous quarter.  
 
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.  
At 30 June 2017, there were 18,755 FTE band 3 to 5 officers, an increase of 665 (3.7%) 
compared to the last year and 353 (1.9%) since the previous quarter (Figure 2). This is the 
highest number of officers in post since 30 September 2013 and the largest annual increase 
across the time series.  
In contrast, the number of band 2 operational support group (OSG) FTE staff decreased by 
279 (5.9%) against the previous year and by 67 (1.5%) since the previous quarter to stand 
at 4,478 at 30 June 2017. This is the lowest number of OSG staff in the time series.  
Figure 2: Number of band 3-5 officers in post on a FTE basis, 31 March 2010 to 30 
June 2017 (Source: Table 3) 
 
 
The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers with less than 3 years service rose to 27.2% 
compared to 24.0% at 31 March 2017. In contrast, the proportion of officers in post with 10 
years or more experience decreased by 1.6 percentage points from 61.0% at 31 March 

6 
 
2017 to 59.4% at 30 June 2017. The change in experience levels is largely due to staff 
reductions in 2013/14 and the current recruitment drive for additional officers.   
The proportion of band 2 operational support staff with less than 3 years service rose to 
32.6% compared to 31.3% at 31 March 2017. Band 2 operational support staff in post with 
10 years or more experience also increased from 45.4% at 31 March 2017 to 46.8% at 30 
June 2017. 
Figure 3 provides a quarterly breakdown of the number of band 3 to 5 officers newly 
recruited and leaving since 2010/11. Over the year to 30 June 2017, 2,930 band 3 officers 
were appointed (consisting of direct new recruits and individuals who converted to a band 3 
officer grade), an increase of 1,351 (85.6%) compared to 1,579 in the previous year. 
However the number of new band 3 officer appointments decreased by 224 (19.6%) from 
1,140 between January and March 2017 to 916 between April and June 2017.  
The headcount number of band 3 to 5 officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 30 June 
2017 was 1,770, an increase of 166 (10.3%) compared to the previous year and of 12 
(3.0%) compared to the previous quarter. Examining reasons for leaving, 50.3% of prison 
officers who left resigned from their roles in the year ending 30 June 2017 (up from 41.6% in 
the year ending 30 June 2016), while 21.6% were dismissed (down from 26.1%) and 15.5% 
retired (down from 17.6%). 
Figure 3: Newly appointed band 3 officers and band 3 to 5 prison officer leavers, April 
2011 to June 2017 (Source: Table 14) 
 
The number of band 2 operational support staff who joined HMPPS in the year ending 30 
June 2017 was 626, a decrease of 101 (13.9%) compared to the previous year but an 
increase of 19 (3.1%) since the year ending 31 March 2017. Similarly, over the last year, 
514 band 2 operational support staff decreased by 21 (3.9%) compared to the previous year 
but increased by 7 (1.4%) compared to the year ending 31 March 2017. 
 

7 
 
Joiners and leavers are not the only movements into and out of the band 3 to 5 officer 
grouping. For this reason, the change in FTE does not directly reflect the difference 
between the number of joiners and leavers. There are also typically differences in the 
proportion of new joiners and older officers who work part time as well as movements 
between grades. This change has the effect of reducing the FTE of officers available as 
they progress through their career.  
 
2.1 Prison officer recruitment target 
As part of the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper published in November 2016, the 
Government committed to an increase of 2,500 prison officers by the end of 2018. The 
accompanying annex sets out progress so far on prison officer recruitment.  Between the end 
of October 2016 and the end of June 2017, there had been a net increase of 800 FTE Band 
3 to 5 prison officers (the closest data point in time to when the commitment was made).   
At the end of June 2017, there were also 738 candidates who had received a job offer and 
been booked onto future Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) places between July 
and December 2017.  This data is provided to give an idea of the quantity of candidates in 
the recruitment pipeline as at 30 June 2017.  Given the dynamic nature of the data, these 
numbers will change as more individuals are booked onto POELT spaces over time and 
existing individuals drop out of the system.  The POELT booking data is also a gross figure 
that does not account for leavers amongst existing officer staff that will happen between 
July and December 2017. 
 

8 
 
3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers 
1,856 FTE band 3 probation service officers and 3,523 FTE band 4 probation officers  
These figures represent increases of 196 (11.8%) FTE probation service officers 
and 151 (4.5%) FTE probation officers over the past year. 
 
Key grades in the NPS include band 3 probation services officers and band 4 probation 
officers (collectively known as probation practitioners) as well as band 5 senior probation 
officers.  
At 30 June 2017, there were 1,856 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, an 
increase of 162 (9.5%) on the quarter and 196 (11.8%) over the last year; 3,523 FTE band 4 
probation officers, representing a decrease of 71 (2.0%) over the quarter but an increase of 
151 (4.5%) compared to the previous year; and 615 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, 
showing increases of 5 (0.9%) since the last quarter and 67 (12.3%) over the last year 
(Figure 4).  
Figure 4: Number of probation officers, probation services officers and senior 
probation officers in post on a FTE basis, 30 June 2014 to 30 June 2017  
(Source: Table 3) 
 
 
In the last year, 470 probation service officers2 were appointed, an increase of 150 
compared to the year ending 31 March 2017 whilst 147 left, a decrease of 3 compared to 
the same period. There were 27 probation officers appointed in the last year, which 
represents a decrease of 11 probation officers compared to the year ending 31 March 2017. 
Meanwhile, 195 probation officers left over the last year, a decrease of 25 compared to the 
previous year.  
                                               
2 Once a probation services officer undertakes and obtains the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP), 
they are eligible to apply for a probation officer role.   
 
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
Jun
Sep
Dec
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
Mar
Jun
Sep
Dec
Mar
Jun
2014
2015
2016
2017
Full tme equivalent staff
End of quarter snapshots
Probation Officer
Probation Services Officer
Senior Probation Officer

9 
 
4. Joiners and Leavers 
 
Leaving rate of 9.3% amongst band 3-5 prison officers 
This is a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 
2017. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the last year stood at 8.3%, a 
0.4 point fall compared to the year ending 31 March 2017.     
In the last year, 4,763 staff joined HMPPS, a rise of 705 (17.4%) compared to the year ending 
31 March 2017. These joiners consisted of 3,845 across PSPs, 723 in the NPS and 195 in 
HMPPS HQ and area services. Compared to the year ending 31 March 2017, these represent 
increases of 17.9% and 21.5 % respectively across PSPs and NPS but a reduction of 3.0% 
in HMPPS HQ and Area services.  
There were 3,910 leavers in the year ending 30 June 2017, a decrease of 126 (3.1%) 
compared to the year ending 31 March 2017. This includes 3,029 leavers from PSPs (a fall 
of 2.4%), 659 from the NPS (a decrease of 5.7%) and 222 from HMPPS HQ and Area services 
(a decline of 4.3%).  
3.1 Leaving rates3 
The overall leaving rate across the whole of HMPPS for the year to 30 June 2017 was 8.3% 
compared to 8.7% for the year to 31 March 2017 (Figure 5), with leaving rates falling for all 
the key operational grades. Specifically, for band 3 to 5 prison officers the 9.3% leaving rate 
in the year ending 30 June 2017 represented a 0.4 percentage point decrease compared to 
the year ending 31 March 2017.  The leaving rate for band 2 operational support grades 
was 10.3% in the year ending 30 June 2017, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points .   
The leaving rate for staff at the NPS overall was 6.9%, a 0.5 percentage point decrease 
compared to 31 March 2017. In the NPS in the operational grades, the leaving was highest 
amongst probation service officers, at 8.1%, although this represented a 0.3 percentage 
point decrease compared to the previous year. In contrast, leaving rates for probation 
officers and senior probation officers stood at 5.0% and 3.8% in the year ending 30 June 
2017. 
Figure 5: Annual leaving rates of permanent staff in key operational grades 
(excluding VEDSR), year to March 2010 to year to June 2017 (Source: Table 8d) 
 
                                               
3 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). 

10 
 
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 is 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 data on prison officer recruitment from job offer 
to staff in post. 
 
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. 
 
Contact 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:  
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx  
Email: xxx@xxx.xx  
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:  
William Rose 
Customer Insight and Corporate Functions Analytical Services 
Ministry of Justice  
Area 9.02, 9th Floor  
102 Petty France  
London  
SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Next update: 16 November 2017 
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 xxx@xxx.xx