UK
Prisons ‘a potential time bomb’, Commons committee finds


Flora Bowen, PA
Fri, 23 June 2023

The prison service is a “potential time bomb”, a senior MP has said as a survey finds half of operational staff do not feel safe at work.

Discontentment with pay, working conditions, and senior management is high among the 6,582 prison officers working in England and Wales who were surveyed by the House of Commons Justice Committee.

The survey, which was carried out between February 10 and March 6 2023, was conducted as part of a wider inquiry into the staffing of prisons by the Justice Committee, with a full report due later this year.


Nearly two thirds of Band Two staff, who support prison officers with administrative tasks, said they do not feel valued for the work they do, while three quarters of staff in bands three to five, who deal directly with prisoners, agreed with this statement.

A general view of HMP Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA)

Concerns around harassment and safety were highlighted by the survey, with 50% of staff in bands three to five agreeing they do not feel safe at the prison they work in, and less than a quarter of bands two to five staff agreeing that physical working conditions at their prison are adequate.

More than 70% of staff in band two and more than 80% of personnel in bands three to five said that staff morale is not good at the prison they work in.

Nearly three quarters of staff in bands three to five and 40% of band two staff experienced verbal abuse from prisoners in the last three months, with around one in five staff in bands two to five saying they had experienced bullying and/or verbal abuse from a colleague in that period.

These findings correlated with officers’ reported stress levels at work, with seven in ten staff in band three to five and 50 % of band two staff saying they are stressed a few times a week or more at work.

Responding to the results of the survey, chairman of the Justice Committee and Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst Sir Bob Neill said: “This is a shocking survey.

“We’ve known as a committee for some time that there are severe staff shortages in prisons and that many prison officers are unhappy with their lot.

“They don’t feel they can carry out vital rehabilitation work with prisoners.

“But when I learn from this survey that fully half of our prison staff do not feel safe at work, that is still deeply concerning.

“This position is not acceptable.

“The Government risks failing in its duty of care to prison staff and prisoners alike.

“We are sitting on a potential time bomb.

“It must be defused.”

HMP Lincoln (Joe Giddens/PA)

Financial resources and management were also considered inadequate, with around two in three staff across bands two to five agreeing they do not have the tools and resources to do their job effectively.

Attitudes towards salary and benefits received were largely negative, with the large majority of staff in bands two to five saying their salary does not accurately reflect the roles and responsibilities of their job.

Similarly, around eight in 10 staff in bands three to five and six in 10 staff in band two said they were not satisfied with the benefits package they receive.

The survey’s findings also showed a lack of confidence in senior management, with nearly two thirds of staff in bands three to five saying they do not trust senior managers concerning decisions about the prison they work in.

Asked whether they planned on leaving the prison service, around one in three band two staff, and over two in five staff in bands three to five said they intended to quit in the next five years.

These reported intentions highlight an ongoing staffing issue in the service, following a loss of 600 staff in prison officer and custodial manager roles between November 2021 to November 2022, according to the Justice Committee.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our hardworking frontline staff work day-in, day-out, to rehabilitate offenders and protect the public – and it is vital they have the right tools and equipment to keep them safe.

“That’s why we’re further improving safety in our jails by investing in PAVA spray and body worn cameras, as well as x-ray body scanners to keep out the dangerous contraband that fuels violence behind bars. We’re also boosting training on the job and prison officer pay to help us hire and retain the best people.”