Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Prison Officer Retirement Age

Tuesday 14 September 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial discussions focused on the impact of raising the retirement age for prison officers to 68 on recruitment, retention, safety, and morale.
  • The Government highlighted that prison officer contributions to their pensions are 5.45%, lower than the 12% for police officers.
  • Responses stressed the importance of retention for safer and more rehabilitative prisons, noting pay increases ranging from 2.5% to 7.5% last year.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Justice & Courts
Context

The question arises from concerns about the impact of raising the retirement age for prison officers to 68 on their recruitment, retention, safety, and morale.

Question

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect on the (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) safety and (d) morale of prison officers of raising the retirement age for that role to 68. The Government have previously stated that because of the higher potential for serious injury and fatality among firefighters and police, they do not consider prison officers deserving of the same pension age protections and the right to retire at 60.

Answer from Alex Chalk

Mercifully, during the pandemic violence has come down in prisons. It is important not to make false comparisons between prison officers and police or fire officers regarding pension age protections. Employee contributions for prison officers are at 5.45%, compared to 12% for police officers and 14% for fire officers. The taxpayer paid the entirety of employee contributions when the Government made a generous offer in 2017, but it was rejected by the POA.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about prison officers having to wait until one is killed before their safety concerns are taken seriously was not addressed.

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Q2 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Justice & Courts
Context

The question relates to the Ministry of Justice figures showing that over 86,000 years of prison officer experience has been lost since 2010 due to key workers moving on to better-paid work.

Question

Our prison officers do fantastic work keeping prisons and communities safe. The Ministry of Justice's own figures show more than 86,000 years of prison officer experience have been lost since 2010 as they move on to better-paid work that does not involve abuse and assaults daily. Why did the Government reject the pay review body's recommendation of a £3,000 uplift for band 3 prison officers?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Retention matters because more experience in prisons leads them to be safer and more rehabilitative. Last year, there was a minimum increase in pay of 2.5%, with some officers receiving up to 7.5%. We will continue to do everything possible to increase retention among new officers through mentoring on wings.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about giving prison officers a £3,000 uplift in pay was not directly addressed.

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Q3 Ellie Reeves Lab Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Justice & Courts
Context

The question is about the loss of prison officer experience since 2010 and the rejection of a pay review body's recommendation for a £3,000 uplift for band 3 prison officers.

Question

Our prison officers do fantastic work keeping prisons and communities safe. The Ministry of Justice's own figures show more than 86,000 years of prison officer experience have been lost since 2010 as they move on to better-paid work that does not involve abuse and assaults daily. Why did the Government reject the pay review body's recommendation of a £3,000 uplift for band 3 prison officers?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Retention matters because more experience in prisons leads them to be safer and more rehabilitative. Last year, there was a minimum increase in pay of 2.5%, with some officers receiving up to 7.5%. We will continue to do everything possible to increase retention among new officers through mentoring on wings.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about giving prison officers a £3,000 uplift in pay was not directly addressed.

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