Thank you to constituents who have contacted me about pay for those working for the Probation Service. The Probation Service plays a crucial role in protecting the public and in reducing the rate of reoffending by prisoners on probation and I am very grateful for the efforts of all those working in HM Prison and Probation Service, including Probation Officers. They have worked tirelessly in the face of difficult circumstances in recent years.

One of the first actions of the Government last year was to bring forward planned increases to pay, enabling staff to receive higher pay for 2024/25 earlier than planned. I understand that pay talks for 2025/26 between trade unions and the Probation Service are still ongoing..

The previous Government left hardworking probation staff to face the consequences of prison overcrowding, damaging morale, but I have confidence in the steps Ministers are taking to deal with the problems they have inherited. I support plans to strengthen the Probation Service by building a skilled, and resilient workforce that can deliver high quality supervision with manageable caseloads. In pursuit of this goal, the Ministry of Justice is recruiting at least 1,000 new trainee Probation Officers. Sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering a safe, secure, and rehabilitative criminal justice system.

The Budget last October allocated an additional £1.9 billion in departmental spending to the Ministry of Justice for 2025/26. I welcome this extra investment, which includes an additional funding to recruit new prison and probation staff, keeping prisons safe and managing offenders in the community. More widely, there will also be up to £300 million worth of investment in prison and probation service maintenance in 2025/26.

Please be assured that the Government is determined to strengthen the Probation Service. The Ministry of Justice will continue to assess what the Service needs and will take further steps, when necessary.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue.

Best wishes

Rt Hon Hilary Benn
MP for Leeds South
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland