HL Deb 23 February 2004 vol 658 cc27-8WA
Lord Chadlington

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many prison officers there are; and what the corresponding figures were for each year between 1997 and 2003. [HL1172]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

The information is contained in the table. The figures include prison officers, senior officers and principal officers. The figures represent a snapshot staffing level on the date of data capture.

Date Total Officer Grades
31 March 1997 23,058
31 March 1998 23,444

Date Total Officer Grades
31 March 1999 23,875
31 March 2000 24,090
31 March 2001 23,777
31 March 2002 23,052
31 March 2003 23,582
31 January 2004 24,007

Lord Chadlington

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many prison officers joined, and how many left, the Prison Service in each year between 1997 and 2003. [HL1173]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

The information is contained in the table. The table includes figures for existing Prison Service staff who converted to prison officer during the period. All officers join at prison officer level but leavers include prison officers, senior officers and principal officers.

Year New Recruits Conversions to Officer All New Officers Officer Leavers
1997–98 1,217 191 1,408 845
1998–99 1,189 203 1,392 719
1999–2000 919 278 1,197 844
2000–01 514 184 698 960
2001–02 363 259 622 1,342
2002–03 1,368 740 2,108 1,343
2003 (April to December) 1,157 491 1,648 1,038