Prison Service: Staff

The answer relates to England and Wales as prisons are a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Prison Service staff are some of our finest public servants. The work of prison staff is largely out of view of the public, but their work is vital for those under their care and to keep the public safe. Ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain levels of experience are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons. We are therefore targeting the drivers of staff attrition and taking steps to improve recruitment levels and processes, alongside a wider agenda to professionalise our workforce.

Recruitment efforts are ongoing at all sites where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need. HMPPS is operating in a challenging labour market, with some more acute challenges in certain areas of the country and parts of the estate. We are committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced – with work to prioritise vetting and online assessment centre places at prisons with the greatest operational need.

HMPPS offers several routes to become a prison officer, including:

• A ‘Prison Officer Alumni’ scheme, which encourages former officers to return to the Service, bringing back their previous experience.

• Advance into Justice scheme, which helps Armed Forces leavers, veterans, and their spouses into Prison Officer roles.

• First Deployment: new recruits will apply to a national campaign and will be allocated to a ‘home’ prison but will be deployed to a different site for the first 23 months of service, with additional financial incentives.

• The Operational Support Grades to prison officer fast-track scheme, giving individuals the chance to use their previous experience in prisons and take the next step in their career through a streamlined process.

HMPPS continues to encourage prisons to support the early onboarding of new colleagues by taking greater ownership of their applicant pipelines. Local familiarisation visits are in operation in a number of prisons, allowing applicants to visit their assigned prison before their start date. By offering a realistic preview of the role, this approach is aimed at reducing early attrition and provide new recruits with an insight into the operational realities of working in a prison.

A new values-based assessment launched on 29 April 2026. This is underpinned by HMPPS values and designed to support new starter retention and engagement by providing a realistic view of what the organisation expects. HMPPS continually reviews its recruitment, onboarding and vetting processes to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary delays while maintaining the high standards required for public protection and operational security.

We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience, both of which are vital to ensuring high-quality outcomes in prisons.