In May 2025, HM Prison and Probation Service published the Safer Recruitment: Safer Working Practices Policy Framework, which requires staff, contractors and volunteers working with children in custody to be appropriately selected, assessed and vetted in accordance with safer recruitment principles. Relevant Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and other pre-employment checks are undertaken before individuals are permitted to work with children. The framework introduced a revised DBS renewal cycle, reducing the renewal frequency from every five years to every three years.

The proportions of staff with current DBS certification are:

Youth Offender Institutions: 96 per cent

Secure Training Centre: 100 per cent

Secure Children’s Homes: 85 per cent

Secure Children's Homes are run by local authorities, which are responsible for ensuring DBS checks are up to date.

The renewal process has begun for all staff working in the above sectors who have out of date DBS certifications, and they are awaiting responses from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The Oasis Restore Secure School (ORSS) is operated by a charity, the Oasis Secure School Trust. It currently expects its staff to apply annually for a check. Following publication of the Trowler Review, ORSS will be encouraged to bring its practice into line with that in the other parts of the youth custody system.

The Youth Justice Service has recently introduced safer recruitment audits, which will strengthen organisational oversight by providing regular and systematic assurance that recruitment processes are being applied consistently and in accordance with safeguarding standards, legislation, and policy requirements, and that DBS and vetting checks are completed as policy requires.

Personnel Security Vetting is the first line of defence in the screening of people working for or on behalf of HMPPS, with the objective of preventing those unsuitable from entering the organisation.

From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2026, a total of 16,425 prison officer applicants entered the HMPPS security vetting process. Of these, the number of prison officer applicants who failed security vetting checks was 2,141 (13%).

The figure for applicants who failed security vetting checks reflect those who applied for prison officer roles in public sector prison establishments across the United Kingdom and Wales and who were referred to the HMPPS Personnel Security Countermeasures (PSC) Vetting department for review by Shared Services Limited (SSL).

Within HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), security vetting is carried out to ensure individuals who wish to take up employment within the organisation can uphold the security and integrity standards expected of their role and ensure prisons and probation remain safe for rehabilitation to take place.

In response to this question, information on the average time taken to complete staff security vetting is not held centrally in the format requested.

Responsibility for staff security vetting within HMPPS is split across different teams and service providers, and there is no single centrally held dataset capturing end‑to‑end average completion times by quarter. Without a centrally held dataset, we are unable to provide the average time taken to complete HMPPS security vetting in response to the question.

The checks that HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) undertake are required to assess individuals against a range of legislative requirements and security related factors that are pertinent to anyone working within a HMPPS environment. We are aware of an increase in onboarding timescales and are taking action to address this.

Both our third-party provider Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) and HMPPS are employing flexible resource allocation and overtime to mitigate delays. Recruitment to the vetting team has also been prioritised, and the additional resource is now helping to reduce the backlog of cases awaiting clearance. HMPPS is working with SSL and providers to improve assessment of future recruitment activity, to ensure any spikes or increases can be managed appropriately.

Additionally, HMPPS is exploring all available opportunities for efficiencies, including by digitalising processes that were previously manual and conducting vetting checks in parallel with other parts of the onboarding process wherever possible.

We are taking all available opportunities to improve the timeliness of our vetting and onboarding process without compromising the safety and security of the organisation.

Whilst we acknowledge the impact lengthened timescales may have on staffing levels across the prison estate, Personnel Security Vetting is the first line of defence in the screening of people working for or on behalf of HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS). Our processes must be defensible, consistent, legal, and fair with a clear focus on protecting the public and maintaining public confidence. We carefully screen criminal histories, unethical behaviour, or reputational risks, which could damage stakeholder trust and organisational image. Our processes demonstrate due diligence and commitment to security, which builds confidence but which in turn, take time to complete.

HMPPS is taking forward recommendations from the 2022 His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police, Fire & Rescue Services report: “An Inspection of Vetting, Misconduct and Misogyny in the Police Service”. This programme contains modernisation of existing processes and protocols to strengthen vetting across the organisation and to raise the defence level against unsuitable individuals entering the organisation. Recent events, such as the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, have shone a spotlight on vetting, making it more important than ever that we ensure our policies, processes, and practices are up to standard, by:

• Ensuring our processes are robust;

• Working closely with colleagues in other areas of HMPPS; and

• Taking action to address lessons learned and recommendations from national reviews such as the Angiolini report and the Baroness Casey review.

Security vetting is vital in HMPPS to ensure individuals can uphold the security and integrity standards expected of their role and ensure that prisons and probation remain safe for rehabilitation to take place. Whilst we acknowledge and understand the difficulties posed by lengthened vetting timescales, we remained committed to security, building confidence and providing rehabilitative services.

The number of individuals currently awaiting completion of security and vetting checks prior to commencing employment within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was 14,694 as of 18 May 2026.

This figure reflects the full onboarding pipeline, covering candidates from the point at which they receive a provisional offer and enter pre-employment checks, through to the completion of all security and vetting processes and a final decision being made on their case. It therefore includes individuals at different stages of the process, not solely those awaiting a decision at a single point in time.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold sufficiently robust or complete data to accurately report on the length of time individuals have been awaiting security and vetting clearance across all stages or providers. Vetting and pre-employment checks are undertaken through a combination of HMPPS, Shared Services Limited (SSL), and other parallel processes. As a result, a consolidated and reliable breakdown of waiting times, such as those exceeding three, six, or twelve months, is not available, and therefore unable to be provided.

The number of individuals currently awaiting completion of security and vetting checks prior to commencing employment within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was 14,694 as of 18 May 2026.

This figure reflects the full onboarding pipeline, covering candidates from the point at which they receive a provisional offer and enter pre-employment checks, through to the completion of all security and vetting processes and a final decision being made on their case. It therefore includes individuals at different stages of the process, not solely those awaiting a decision at a single point in time.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold sufficiently robust or complete data to accurately report on the length of time individuals have been awaiting security and vetting clearance across all stages or providers. Vetting and pre-employment checks are undertaken through a combination of HMPPS, Shared Services Limited (SSL), and other parallel processes. As a result, a consolidated and reliable breakdown of waiting times, such as those exceeding three, six, or twelve months, is not available, and therefore unable to be provided.

The checks that HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) undertake are required to assess individuals against a range of legislative requirements and security related factors that are pertinent to anyone working within a HMPPS environment. We are aware of an increase in onboarding timescales and are taking action to address this.

Both our third-party provider Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) and HMPPS are employing flexible resource allocation and overtime to mitigate delays. Recruitment to the vetting team has also been prioritised, and the additional resource is now helping to reduce the backlog of cases awaiting clearance. HMPPS is working with SSL and providers to improve assessment of future recruitment activity, to ensure any spikes or increases can be managed appropriately.

Additionally, HMPPS is exploring all available opportunities for efficiencies, including by digitalising processes that were previously manual and conducting vetting checks in parallel with other parts of the onboarding process wherever possible.

We are taking all available opportunities to improve the timeliness of our vetting and onboarding process without compromising the safety and security of the organisation.

The criminal record regime aims to strike a balance between providing employers with the information they need to make safer recruitment decisions, while enabling ex-offenders to rebuild their lives. This is why Enhanced DBS checks are intended for roles involving a high degree of public trust or specific safeguarding responsibilities—including work with children or vulnerable adults. The roles and activities that are eligible for enhanced criminal record checks are set out in legislation.

We recognise that disclosure of a criminal record can have a significant impact on an individual’s employment opportunities and ability to reintegrate into society, and we are committed to helping those people to overcome barriers and turn away from reoffending. This includes having introduced Regional Employment Councils, which bring together prisons, probation and the Department of Work and Pensions along with businesses, to help support people with convictions out into the community.

The Deputy Prime Minister also confirmed that the Government will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences. The Home Office and Ministry of Justice are working together to consider next steps.

We are committed to helping people with convictions overcome barriers to employment and turn away from reoffending. The criminal records regime is designed to play a role in this process, balancing the need to safeguard the public, with enabling ex-offenders to rebuild their lives.

We recognise, however, that disclosure requirements can impact on an individual’s chances to reintegrate into society. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed that we are considering the recommendation made by Sir Brian Leveson in his independent review of the Criminal Courts, including opportunities to simplify the regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences.

We are also committed to reducing barriers to employment in other ways, as we know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points in the year following release. For example, last year we launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation and the Department of Work and Pensions to support offenders leaving prison back into work.

We are committed to supporting children to turn their lives around and recognise that having a criminal record can have a significant impact on children and adults who offended as a child. Sir Brian Leveson, in his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, noted the importance of ensuring that the impact of a criminal record is proportionate to the offending.

In response, the Deputy Prime Minister committed to exploring opportunities to reform the criminal records regime, particularly in relation to childhood offences, so that it is clear and proportionate, while continuing to prioritise public safety. We will set out our plans for doing so in due course.

We recognise the importance of removing barriers to employment for ex-offenders. Employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points in the year following release, and a similar percentage point reduction for prisoners who take any form of learning activity. The criminal record regime has a role in this process, striking a balance between providing employers with the information they need to make safer recruitment decisions, while enabling ex-offenders to rebuild their lives.

We recognise that disclosure requirements and the approach of employers and learning institutions can have a significant impact on an individual’s employment opportunities and access to education. This is also an area that Sir Brian Levenson’s recent independent review of the Criminal Courts highlighted. The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 2 December 2025 that we are considering Sir Brian’s recommendation, including opportunities to simplify the regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences.

Eligibility for employment in the Civil Service, including with regard to nationality, is set out in the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs). All applicants applying to work in the Ministry of Justice or its agencies must meet the CSNRs and must have a valid right to work in the United Kingdom and have successfully completed pre-employment checks.

All candidates, regardless of nationality, are subject to a series of background checks, which assess them against a range of legislative requirements and security-related factors that are pertinent to anyone working within H M Prison Service. These include confirmation of identity, right to work in the UK, a criminal records check, declaration of any offender connections, employment reference enquiries and a financial vulnerability assessment.

All directly employed prison staff, including prison officers, must have a minimum security clearance of Enhanced Level 2. A range of additional digital vetting and social media checks are also conducted in relation to prison officer recruits.

For all prison officers working in prisons in the Long-Term and High Security Estate, an additional National Security Vetting Check at Counter Terrorist Check level is required, as a minimum.