Question reference: S6W-25253
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 6 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prison officer vacancies there were on (a) 31 January 2023 and (b) 31 January 2024.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS does not operate minimum prison officer staffing requirements. SPS has agreed prison officer staffing complements which are tailored to the needs of each establishment and agreed in partnership with the Prison Officers Association (Scotland).
SPS workforce data is produced monthly after the conclusion of the previous month, the most up to date data available is as follows:
On 2 February 2023, SPS had 70.9 prison officer vacancies (a 2.2% vacancy rate) across the prison estate.
On 2 February 2024, SPS had 59 prison officer vacancies (a 1.8% vacancy rate) across the prison estate.