Prison Staff and Judiciary Pay Awards

I am today confirming the Government decision on pay awards for both prison staff and the judiciary.

Having carefully considered the Prison Service Pay Review Body’s (PSPRB) recommendations on the 2023-24 pay award, we are accepting in full the 13 recommendations made by the PSPRB for all staff within their remit for implementation in this financial year. The pay award will also apply to some non-remit group staff within the Prison Service grading structure. Nearly 39,000 staff will benefit from the pay award, based on internal estimates.

I am grateful for the continued hard work and dedication of all Prison Service staff, who play a vital role in helping to rehabilitate prisoners and keep the public safe.

The award delivers headline pay increases of:

7% for prison officer grades (bands 3 to 5)

5% for managerial and prison governor grades (bands 7 to 12)

£2,000 for our lowest paid staff, band 2 operational support grades.

This pay award will be paid this autumn and will be backdated to 1 April 2023.

Accepting all recommendations from the PSPRB in full reflects my commitment to supporting the recruitment and retention of prison staff and recognises the essential contribution they make every day. In recognition of the significant cost-of-living pressures on staff, this pay award especially targets the lowest grades.

The pay award this year has been made affordable by reprioritising spending within the existing budgets, including at the efficiency and savings review, with consideration of the inflationary pressures across the Department’s budget, the wider economic position, and alongside the additional cost of the pay award in 2022-23. It is affordable in the context of the Department’s spending review settlement, which provided an extra £3.2 billion across this Parliament, taking total funding to £11.5 billion in 2024-25. This award is consistent with the Government’s priority to halve inflation and recognises the primacy of investing in people.

I would like to thank the PSPRB for its valuable advice and response to the Government’s evidence.

The report has been laid before Parliament today, 13 July 2023. I am grateful to the chair and members of the review body for their report.

The Government received the Senior Salaries Review Body’s (SSRB) report on 8 June 2023. This will be presented to Parliament and published on gov.uk.

The Government value the independent expertise and insight of the SSRB and have considered the advice in the report.

The recommendation made by the SSRB for the judiciary is for a pay award of 7% for all judicial office holders within the remit group for 2023-24. I have decided to accept this recommendation, which will be applied equally to all salary groups backdated to April 2023.

This award is over double that of last year and will apply to 1,922 salaried judicial office holders. The award will help address judicial recruitment shortfalls, and I have considered affordability and the Government priority to halve inflation alongside the need for ongoing investment into improving the wider criminal justice system.

This increase demonstrates the value the Government place on our independent judiciary and their crucial role as we continue to deliver court reform and tackle the outstanding caseload.

[HCWS941]