Recommendation 5

HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred

13. HMPPS is committed to transparency, and we ensure that our statistics adhere to the standards set by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). Transparency is an important element of the Code of Practice for Statistics1 set by the OSR. 14. We maintain transparency on workforce data particularly through two regular publications: HMPPS’s Workforce Quarterly Statistics2 and the HMPPS annual Staff Equalities Report3. In addition, the MoJ complies with all regular mandatory workforce transparency requirements and data returns set out by the Cabinet Office and the Office for National Statistics. 15. The quarterly HMPPS statistics and annual equalities report balances a range of user needs, the public interest and value. These publications include data in relation to the below: • Vacancy rates: We do not specifically publish information referring to vacancy rates, however, HMPPS does publish the difference between staff in post and target staffing figures for Band 3-5 officers at establishment and national level in the quarterly HMPPS Workforce statistics (Table 4 of the Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex4. The target staffing figure is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison and is set on a site- specific basis. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training. • Officers retiring from the workforce: the HMPPS quarterly workforce statistics include the headcount of Band 3-5 officers who left HMPPS in the previous year, including the percentage of leavers who retired. 1 Code of Practice for Statistics 2 HM Prison & Probation Service workforce quarterly: September 2025 - GOV.UK 3 HM Prison & Probation Service Staff Equalities Report: 2024–2025 - GOV.UK 4 annex-prison-and-probation-officer-recruitment-Sep-2025_final.ods Table 5a and 5b of the quarterly publication also include numbers of staff in public sector prisons and the youth custody estate by age, including numbers over 60. Furthermore, the annual equalities report also publishes the percentage of Staff in Post by grade and age, including the percentage of staff who are aged 60 or over. 16. With respect to the recommendation on skilled worker visa, the MoJ holds data pertaining to employees who have limited leave to remain, which includes employees the department has sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa. However, publishing robust numbers of staff with a Skilled Worker visa is not deemed to be a cost-effective use of public money. Data is not currently managed on the central HR system due to extensive work required to monitor applications and ensure compliance is maintained. There is no single model which would allow the department to easily transition into a formal and regular publication and to consider such activity would require significant resource and funds. The department remains committed to ensuring recruitment and appointments are conducted fairly, in line with the relevant laws applied in the UK and policies applied to the Civil Service.