Recommendation 6

HM Government Deferred

19. The Government acknowledges the recommendation for prison Governors to have greater involvement in the recruitment of staff who work in their prison and in particular face-to-face interviewing. Work is ongoing to design an approach that enhances the Governor’s role in recruitment decision-making, while remaining fully compliant with employment law and the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. 20. HMPPS operates a centralised recruitment model for prison officers, which is streamlined to accommodate the very high numbers of applicants required to cover current and future demand, in line with future estate expansion. The national approach ensures that a consistent standard is applied in assessment, in-line with the Civil Service recruitment principles of fair and open competition, and on merit. This helps to mitigate unconscious bias and supports our compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Ensuring that candidates are recruited to the same standard allows prison officers to be a ‘mobile grade’ to move around between prisons. 21. Planned enhancements to the recruitment process include greater selectiveness in online sifting stages and new assessment content. These will offer more opportunities to evaluate relational skills, English language standards, and candidates’ values, motivation, and engagement. These changes are scheduled to be introduced in quarter 4 of 2025/26, followed by a period of evaluation to assess their impact. Once this is complete, further consideration will be given to increased Governor involvement and face-to-face interviews with senior staff. 22. HMP Berwyn started a two-stage localised recruitment initiative in August 2022 to test if increased local autonomy delivers better quality candidates and improved retention rates. HMPPS has taken learning from that pilot and are using these to inform how we further involve establishments in the process of selecting officers. The HMP Berwyn local initiatives have indicated that the models tested so far do not fulfil HMPPS requirements. While candidates generally had a positive experience, the process took longer to complete, and high applicant numbers made it impractical for the Governor or Senior Management Team to conduct interviews themselves. The approach increased workload for Berwyn staff and diverted custodial manager resources away from operational delivery. Due to its resource-intensive nature, managers determined that local recruitment in the formats tested was unsustainable alongside regular responsibilities. 23. As part of the review of foundation training being undertaken as part of HMPPS’s Enable Programme, new assessment methods will be introduced during prison officers’ training, focusing on evaluating an individual’s practical competence and moving beyond measures of academic ability. These assessments will reflect the skills and behaviours required in operational environments and set a high standard for new officers.