Main Points

64,607 FTE (full time equivalent) staff in post	This is a slight increase of 357 FTE (0.6%) staff in post compared to 31 December 2023 and a slight decrease of 594 FTE (0.9%) since 30 September 2024. The increase seen over the last year is largely because Public Sector Prisons have increased by 227 (0.6%), and probation staff have increased by 184 (0.9%). The increase in prisons staff will be partly due to the introduction of Lowdham Grange from the private sector, further details below. Of the staff in post, there were 37,054 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 20,555 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,613 FTE staff in HQ and Frontline Support, and 1,385 FTE in the Youth Custody Service (YCS).
23,062 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post	This is a slight decrease of 136 FTE (0.6%) since 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 509 FTE (2.2%) prison officers compared to 30 September 2024.
5,510 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post	This is an increase of 87 FTE (1.6%) since 31 December 2023 and a slight decrease of 82 FTE (1.5%) operational support staff since 30 September 2024.
5,283 FTE band 4 probation officers in post	This is an increase of 334 FTE (6.8%) since 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 153 FTE (2.8%) compared to 30 September 2024. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 5,316 FTE band 3 probation services officers: a decrease of 988 FTE (15.7%) since 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 270 FTE (4.8%) since 30 September 2024, caused by a lower number of trainee probation officers this year.
Leaving rate of 12.5% amongst band 3-5 prison officers	This is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 10.9%, which is a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 of 11.6%.
Leaving rate of 7.1% amongst band 4 Probation officers	This is a decrease of 0.9 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The leaving rate of band 3 probation services officer over the past 12 months was 11.0%, which is a decrease of 1.3 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024.

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, HMPPS headquarters, and Frontline Support which provides direct operational support. 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 December 2024.

As at December 2024, there were 64,607 FTE staff in post which was an increase of 357 FTE compared to December 2023. This increase was mainly due to increases in Public Sector Prisons which saw an increase of 227 FTE (0.6%), however this will mainly be due to the introduction of Lowdham Grange into the public sector estate from the private sector, in August 2024. Lowdham Grange staff are included in the staff in post figures but are not treated at new joiners so are not included in the joiners data.

Some Probation Service grades also saw an increase over the same period with there being an increase of 334 FTE (6.8%) Probation officers  as well as other bands 4-6 (20.4%) and other bands 1-3 (78.7%). The exception is probation services officers where there has been a decrease of 988 FTE. Following high recruitment volumes for trainee probation officers in previous years, we have seen a lower number of trainee probation officers who started on a course in the most recent financial year (543 in 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23), which has contributed towards this net decrease. Coupled with this, a contributing factor to the net decrease in probation services officers is the qualification of trainee probation officers, with many qualifiers taking up posts at the band 4 qualified probation officer grade.

Since 30 September 2024, there has been a decrease of 594 FTE staff in post (0.9%) across HMPPS. There were 23,062 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post in December 2024, which is a decrease of 509 FTE (2.2%) compared to September 2024 and there was also a decrease 82 FTE (1.5%) in band 2 operational support staff in post.  As at 31 December 2024 5,283 FTE band 4 probation officers were in post which is a decrease of 153 FTE (2.8%) compared to September 2024.

Leaving rates fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly due to increased uncertainty in the employment market. The leaving rate then went up to 12.6% in March 2022 before going down. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS was 10.9% in the 12 months to 31 December 2024, representing a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the year ending March 2024. In the 12 months to 31 December 2024, there was a total of 7,932 staff who left HMPPS, which is an increase of 155 (2.0%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023.  The leaving rate of band 4 probation officers was 7.1% in the year to 31 December 2024, which represents a decrease of 0.9 percentage points compared to the year ending March 2024.

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 December 2024 and therefore considers in detail quarterly staffing levels and staff inflows and outflows, for HMPPS and its predecessors, since 1 April 2018.

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 all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts, 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 accredited official statistics in development, presents figures on Prison Officer and operational support grade (OSG) recruitment by diversity characteristics. From June 2021, recruitment statistics were introduced for HMPPS overall, HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support, Public Sector Prisons (including the YCS) and the Probation Service. This annex runs on a six-monthly production cycle and is only included in the June and December editions.

Annex on Prison and 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. Following on from the March 2024 publication, we have published quarterly hours adjusted Staff in Post, Target Staffing and Difference at establishment level for band 3-5 prison officers.

Annex on ‘Great Place to Work for Veterans’ recruitment

This annex was introduced in 2022 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, utilise 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/

Organisational Changes in last two years

• From the December 24 publication the Approved Premises teams have been grouped into one Approved Premises region rather than having the 7 different AP regions separately.

• From December 24 publication the prison regions for Midlands have been updated from three prison regions to just two, East Midland and West Midlands. North Midlands no longer exists. The prisons in each region can be found in the Technical Guide.

• Lowdham Grange came into the public sector prison from the private sector on 1 August 2024. As at 30 September 2024 their staff accounted for 393 FTE, of which 254 FTE were Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers.

• The prison functions were updated in the  September 2024 publication to align with the latest prison categories.

• In the June 2024 publication the prison region Tees & Wear was renamed to North East and the prison region Long Term & High Security was split into two regions: Long Term & High Security North and Long Term & High Security South.

• Following the introduction of the OneHMPPS programme Area Services has been renamed as Frontline Support in this publication, and there has been a review of the business units that are placed in HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support. This is shown in the recent changes in the staffing levels of the two groups.

• In June 2024 Cookham Wood was repurposed as an adult prison for category C males, but this change was not reflected in the June 24 publication. This change was made in the September 24 publication and all historical data have been amended to reflect this change as well.

• From the September 2023 publication, following a review of the Senior Civil Servants (SCS) data, HMPPS Prison Group Director (PGD) and Regional Probation Director (RPD) roles have been removed from this cohort. PGDs and RPDs moved from SCS Band 1 to a new Band 12 grade and have been included in the operational grades data instead.

1. Total HMPPS staff in post

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64,607 FTE staff in post (as at 31 December 2024)

This is a marginal increase of 357 FTE (0.6%) staff in post since 31 December 2023 and a slight decrease of 594 FTE (0.9%) since 30 September 2024. Of the staff in post, there were 37,054 FTE in Public Sector Prisons (PSP), 20,555 FTE staff in the Probation Service, 5,613 FTE staff in HQ and Frontline Support, and 1,385 FTE in the Youth Custody Service (YCS).

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As at 31 December 2024,there were 64,607 FTE staff in post in HMPPS on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis (Figure 1). This includes 37,054 FTE staff in PSP (making up 57.4% of all HMPPS staff), 20.555 FTE in the Probation Service (31.8% of all HMPPS staff), 5,613 FTE in HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support (8.7% of all HMPPS staff), and 1,385 FTE in the YCS (2.1% of all HMPPS staff).

Compared to 31 December 2023, the overall staff numbers increased by 357 FTE (0.6%): FTE in PSP slightly increased by 227 (0.6%), though this would have been affected by introduction of 393 FTE staff in Lowdham Grange. FTE in the Probation Service increased by 184 (0.9%), FTE in HQ and Frontline Support slightly decreased by 38 (0.7%), and FTE in the YCS slightly decreased by 15 (1.1%).

As at 31 December 2024, there were 29,672 FTE (45.9% of HMPPS staff) operational Prison Service staff (including YCS staff). This a decrease of 58 FTE staff compared to 31 December 2023. Non-operational roles across PSP, YCS, and HMPPS HQ accounted for 14,024 FTE staff (21.7% of HMPPS staff), which is

an increase of 216 FTE (1.6%) since 31 December 2023. There were 20,911 FTE staff^{[footnote 1]} in the Probation Service (32.4% of all HMPPS staff): a slight increase of 200 (1.0%) FTE since 31 December 2023.

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 2019 to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 1)

1.1 Length of Service

Across HMPPS overall, 34.2% of FTE staff in post had less than 3 years’ service, which was a decrease from 35.3% at 31 December 2023 and also a decrease from 35.5% at 30 September 2024. 32.6% of HMPPS FTE staff in post had 10 years or more of experience, representing a slight increase from 32.3% at 30 September 2024.

The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers with less than 3 years’ service at 31 December 2024 fell to 39.2% compared to 40.6% as at 31 December 2023. The proportion of band 3-5 prison officers in post with 10 years or more of experience  decreased by 2.8 percentage points from 27.2% at 31 December 2023 to 24.4% at 31 December 2024. This corresponds to 5,616 FTE staff with 10 years or more of experience at 31 December 2024, which is a fall of 693 FTE, or 11.0% since 31 December 2023.

The proportion of band 2 OSG FTE staff with less than 3 years’ service slightly decreased from 52.1% at 31 December 2023 to 51.7% at 31 December 2024, and the proportion of those with 10 years or more of experience decreased from 26.1% at 31 December 2023 to 23.3% at 31 December 2024.

It should be noted, that the National Probation Service was created on 1 June 2014 and service prior to this is not captured in our data. 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.

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

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23,062 FTE band 3-5 prison officers in post (as at 31 December 2024)

This is a slight decrease of 136 FTE (0.6%) since 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 509 FTE (2.2%) prison officers compared to 30 September 2024, though the change since last year would have been affected by introduction of 254 FTE prison officers in Lowdham Grange in August 2024. In the last year there has been a more targeted approach to prison officer recruitment in reaction to specific regional staffing requirements focusing on filling vacancies substantively.

5,510 FTE band 2 operational support staff in post (as at 31 December 2024)

This corresponds to an increase of 87 FTE (1.6%) since 31 December 2023 and a slight decrease of 82 FTE (1.5%) operational support staff since 30 September 2024.

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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 2019 to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 3)

Figure 3 shows a quarterly trend of band 3 to 5 appointments and leavers since 2018/19. Over the year to 31 December 2024, 3,491 band 3 to 5 officers were appointed (consisting of direct new recruits and existing staff who converted to a band 3 officer grade), a decrease of 2,012 (36.6%) compared to 5,503 in the previous year. Looking at the quarterly figures, the headcount of new band 3 to 5 officer appointments decreased by 336 (46.8%) from 718 between July and September 2024 to 382 between October and December 2024 (Table 17).

The headcount of band 3 to 5 prison officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 31 December 2024 was 3,078, which is an increase of 34 (1.1%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023. Examining reasons for leaving, 66.6% of prison officers who left in the year ending 31 December 2024 resigned from their roles (up from 65.3% in the year ending 31 December 2023). Of the other prison officers who left HMPPS in the year ending 31 December 2024, 20.0% were dismissed and 5.8% retired; the proportion dismissed is up from 15.6% compared to previous year while the number retiring is up from 5.9%. Following the staff survey in 2023 one of HMPPS’ priorities was to set a positive culture through high professional standards. Specialist teams have been established to ensure those standards are met and that interventions can be put in place where necessary.

Figure 3: Newly appointed band 3 to 5 prison officers and band 3 to 5 prison officer leavers, April 2018 to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 17)

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.

The number of band 2 OSG staff who joined HMPPS in the year ending 31 December 2024 was 1,217: a decrease of 664 (35.3%) compared to the previous year ending 31 December 2023. There was a decrease of 229 (15.8%) since the year ending 30 September 2024. The headcount number of band 2 OSG staff who left HMPPS was 922, which is a decrease of 14 (1.5%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 60 (6.1%) compared to the year ending 30 September 2024.

3. Probation practitioners and senior probation officers

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5,283 FTE band 4 probation officers in post (as at 31 December 2024)

This figure is an increase of 334 FTE (6.8%) since 31 December 2023 but a decrease of 153 FTE (2.8%) probation officers compared to 30 September 2024. In addition to the band 4 probation officers, there were 5,316 FTE band 3 probation services officers: a decrease of 988 FTE (15.7%) since 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 270 FTE (4.8%) since 30 September 2024.

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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 December 2024, there were 5,316 FTE band 3 probation services officers in post, a decrease of 988 FTE (15.7%) over the past year and a decrease of 270 FTE (4.8%) over the quarter. Band 3 PSO joiners were lower for the 2023/24 financial year due to the lower number of Trainee Probation Officers starting on a course (543 for 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23). For the 2024/25 financial year, we have committed publicly to onboarding at least 1,000 Trainee Probation Officers and we will confirm whether we have met that commitment in the next release. There were 5,283 FTE band 4 probation officers, representing an increase of 334 FTE (6.8%) over the past year and a decrease of 153 FTE (2.8%) compared to the previous quarter; and 1,523 FTE band 5 senior probation officers, showing a slight increase of 22 (1.5%) over the previous year and an increase of 28 (1.9%) 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 2019 to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 3)

In the past year, 950 probation services officers were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified probation officers. This is a decrease of 974 (50.6%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023 and a slight decrease of 8 (0.8%) compared to the number appointed in the year ending 30 September 2024.

Within the Probation Service, there were 5,262 FTE Probation Officers in post, a shortfall of 1,854 FTE against the target staffing level of 7,116 FTE. There were 1,630 staff, equivalent to 1,601 FTE, undertaking the PQiP training as of 31 December 2024. Whilst this shortfall has increased relative to the September release, there were also 485 FTE staff who had qualified from a PQiP course by the end of December but were not yet in a Probation Officer role. We would expect these individuals to have taken up Probation Officer roles by the March 2025 release (please refer to the Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment Annex for more details).

In the past year, 690 probation services officers left the service. This is a decrease of 155 (18.3%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023 and a decrease of 115 (14.3%) compared to the number who left in the year ending 30 September 2024.

4. Joiners and Leavers

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Leaving rate of 12.5% amongst band 3-5 prison officers (for the 12 months ending 31 December 2024)

This is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. The overall leaving rate across HMPPS over the past year stood at 10.9%, which is a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 of 11.6%

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Over the past year, 8,147 staff joined HMPPS, which is a decrease of 4,474 (35.4%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023. In response to recruitment and retention challenges in certain parts of the country, in 2023 we purposefully over-recruited at prisons with a strong track-record of recruitment, allowing staff to be temporarily deployed to other prisons. We have actively managed down the number of surplus staff at these sites, whilst substantively filling vacancies at the sites that required resourcing support. 

The joiners consisted of 5,126 across PSP, 225 in the YCS, 2,548 in the Probation Service, and 248 in HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support. Compared to the year ending 31 December 2023, these numbers of joiners represent a decrease of 33.8% for PSP, a decrease of 37.7% for YCS, a decrease of 39.0% for Probation Service, and a decrease of 25.7% for HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support. Band 3 PSO joiners were lower for the 2023/24 financial year due to the lower number of Trainee Probation Officers starting on a course (543 for 2023/24 compared to 1,514 in 2022/23). For the 2024/25 financial year, we have committed publicly to onboarding at least 1,000 Trainee Probation Officers and we will confirm whether we have met that commitment in the next release.

There were 7,932 leavers in the year ending 31 December 2024, an increase of 155 (2.0%) compared to the year ending 31 December 2023. This includes 4,846 leavers from PSP (an increase of 1.5%), 210 from YCS (a decrease of 8.3%), 2,226 from the Probation Service (a decrease of 3.8%), and 650 from HMPPS HQ and Frontline Support (an increase of 41.3%).

4.1 Leaving Rates^{[footnote 2]}

The overall HMPPS leaving rate for the year to 31 December 2024 was 10.9%  compared to 11.6% for the year to 31 March 2024 (Figure 5); a decrease of 0.7 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. Although the latest leaving rates for most grades apart from senior probation officers, are still higher than pre-pandemic levels, most have shown a decrease over the last 12 months.

The leaving rate for staff at the Probation Service overall in the year ending 31 December 2024 was 9.7%, which is a decrease of 0.8 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2024. In the operational grades within the Probation Service, the leaving rate was highest amongst probation services officers at 11.0%: a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the year ending 31 March 2024. Leaving rates for probation officers and senior probation officers stood at 7.1% (a decrease of 0.9 percentage points) and 4.6% (an increase of 0.5 percentage points), respectively, compared to the year to 31 March 2024.

Figure 5: Annual leaving rates of permanent staff in key operational grades (excluding VEDSR), from the 12 months to 31 March 2019 to the 12 months to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 11)

4.2 Resignation Rates^{[footnote 3]}

The overall HMPPS resignation rate for the 12 months to 31 December 2024 was 6.8%,  compared to 7.2% for the year to 31 March 2024, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points, (Figure 6). For band 3-5 officers, the resignation rate was 8.4% in the year ending 31 December 2024, which is a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2024. The resignation rate for OSG staff was 10.2% for the year ending 31 December 2024, which is a decrease of 0.8 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2024.

For the Probation Service the resignation rate was 6.2% for the year ending 31 December 2024. This represents a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the year ending 31 March 2024. Amongst the operational grades within the Probation Service, probation services officers had the highest resignation rate at 7.7%, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points since the year ending 31 March 2024.

Figure 6: Annual resignation rates of permanent staff in key operational grades, from the 12 months to 31 March 2019 to the 12 months to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 12)

5. Sickness absence

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HMPPS staff lost an average of 11.7 working days to sickness absence in the 12 months ending 31 December 2024

This represents an increase of 0.5 Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) compared to the year ending 31 March 2024 (11.2 working days lost).

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In the year ending 31 December 2024, HMPPS staff lost an average of 11.7 working days to sickness absence. This is an increase from 11.2 average working days lost for the year ending 31 March 2024, and an increase of 1.4 days compared to the predominantly COVID-19 free year ending 31 March 2020.

YCS staff had the highest sickness absence rate at 17.3 AWDL, followed by the Probation Service (13.2 AWDL), PSP (11.4 AWDL), and HQ and Frontline Support (6.6 AWDL) (Figure 7). Compared to the year ending 31 March 2024, these represent an increase of 0.3 days for YCS, an increase of 0.7 days for Probation Service, an increase of 0.5 days for PSP, and an increase of 0.6 days for HQ and Frontline Support staff.

Figure 7: Average working days lost to sickness absence, 12 months to 31 March 2019 to 12 months to 31 December 2024 (Source: Table 18)

The most common category of sickness absence in terms of days lost was mental ill health, corresponding to 40.5% of working days lost in the past year. This category was most prevalent for probation officers, where 58.5% of working days lost were attributed to mental ill health.

For HMPPS overall the category that accounted for the second largest proportion of working days lost was musculoskeletal system (18.2%). Together the top two categories accounted for 58.8% of all working days lost.

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 accredited official statistics in development  on the gender, ethnicity and disability status of recruitment campaign applicants for selected HMPPS Grades.

•     A supplementary annex presenting statistics on probation officers in post, their required staffing level, and the number of trainee and qualified probation officers. In addition, it includes published quarterly hours adjusted Staff in Post, Target Staffing and Difference at establishment level for Band 3-5 Prison Officers.

Accredited Official Statistics

The statistics in this bulletin are classified as accredited official statistics. Accredited official statistics refer to official statistics that have been independently reviewed by The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) to ensure they comply with the standards trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are referred to as ‘National Statistics’ in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The term ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ to describe national statistics was introduced by OSR in September 2023, following a review of the National Statistics designation.

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.

Accredited Official Statistics in development

Accredited official statistics in development 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 accredited official statistics in development, please use the contact details below.

Contact

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

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:

Rob Hartley 

Workforce Statistics & Analysis

Analysis Directorate

Ministry of Justice 

10 South Colonnade 

London 

E14 4PH 

Email: robert.hartley@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 15 May 2025 

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

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Alternative formats are available on request from robert.hartley@justice.gov.uk