Prison officer numbers could fall by more than 800 a year as the Government trims prison budgets in the wake of the Comprehensive Spending Review, a senior prisons trade unionist suggested this week.
Tom Robson, vice-chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said that he expected Justice Secretary Ken Clarke to cut prison officer numbers by about three per cent a year for four years.
Mr Clarke is seeking to reduce prisoner numbers by 3,000 by 2014-15.
The Ministry of Justice business plan published this month confirmed that the ministry’s budget will be cut by about 23 per cent, but does not give figures for the prison service. Individual prison budgets are expected to be confirmed in January.
Mr Robson said: “My understanding is the scheme will be entirely voluntary. I would hope that we continue to be careful in avoiding compulsory redundancies.”
“We have to rely on the skills of the [individual prison] committees to make sure that the staffing levels don’t fall to dangerous levels.”
HM Prison Service currently employs some 26,000 prison officers, with about 2,600 more in the private sector.
The business plan also calls for a “competition strategy for all offender services” that could see prisons privatised.
