With around 1500 prisoners and an estate of three prisons, the Northern Ireland Prison Service is a very small prison service. This inquiry was undertaken to examine whether the estate was adequate and appropriate for the secure accommodation of Northern Ireland's prisoners and whether the Prison Service meets the health, education and training needs of prisoners. One of the main conclusions is that the Current Comprehensive Spending Review does not provide sufficient capital for the substantial redesign of the prison estate. If criminal justice is to be devolved the Committee hope that capital investment in the prison estate will be a priority of the Northern Ireland Executive. If not the Secretary of State will have to argue for an increase in funding.

This is the eleventh report on England and Wales of the Prison Service Pay Review Body. Although this is the second year of a pay freeze for the public sector workers paid more than GBP21,000 a year, the Body considered evidence from the parties, undertook a visits programme and makes a few key recommendations on pay from 1 April 2012 including a consolidated increase of GBP250 to all points at or below GBP21,000

The Prison Service Pay Review Body 2011 report on Northern Ireland sets out a number of recommendations regarding pay, including: a consolidated increase of £250 for night custody officers, operational support grades and healthcare assistants; a consolidated increase of £0.12 per hour for prisoner custody officers and senior prisoner custody officers; that night patrol officers be paid at a single rate of £18,704. These recommendations are made against the background of exceptional economic circumstances, and follow the Minister's recommendation that consideration be given to those earning £21,000 or less, which follows the Government's announcement of a two-year pay freeze for those earning above that threshold.

This is the fourth report on Northern Ireland from the Prison Service Pay Review Body with recommendations for the pay arrangements of prison governors and officer grades applicable from 1 April 2006. These include: a consolidated increase in basic pay for all remit group staff of two per cent, to be paid through spinal progression; and an unconsolidated service-wide performance award of up to one per cent.

The report's key recommendation is for an increase in basic pay for all grades of £425 or 1.6 per cent, whichever is the greater. This, combined with some other changes for operational managers, two additional rates of locality pay, and a 1.6 per cent increase in all allowances except specialist, will lead to an increase in the pay bill of £27 million or 2.5 per cent. The Review Body has long considered the current pay system as outmoded and in urgent need of reform, and has identified particular aspects that require attention: the length of pay ranges; performance or competence based pay progression; rationalization of the middle management grading structure; and pay arrangements for governing governors (in charge of establishments) and senior operational managers. So it welcomes some progress towards pay reform, linked to a multi-year deal between the Prison Service Agency and the Prison Officers' Association, but regrets that the negotiations had stalled at the end of 2005. It is vital that the negotiations resume, and that proposals for a new pay and grading structure, underpinned by a robust job evaluation system, are available in time for the 2007 report.

The Review Body makes recommendations for the pay arrangements of prison governors, other operational managers, prison officers and support grades in England and Wales. This is their 4th report which contains recommendations applicable from 1 April 2005, including that existing rates of locality payment remain in force, to be kept under review; an increase in basic pay of 2.5 per cent for staff generally, with the exception of senior officers who should receive an increase of 3.0 per cent in improve their relative position within the pay structure.

This report considers how to make pay more market-facing in local areas for staff within the Body's remit. In a document entitled 'Fair and sustainable' developed jointly with the trades unions, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) proposed replacing the existing Locality Pay Allowance with a basic national pay range with London enhancements. For staff on the pay range maxima included in this paper, working 37 hours per week and without an unsocial hours payment, the inner and outer London scales are respectively £3,800 and £2,500 a year higher than the national scale. Both NOMS and the unions requested that those proposals be given an opportunity to 'bed in' before considering whether any additional local pay flexibilities are needed. This report supports that view and recommends implementing the NOMS proposals before further consideration

Key recommendations this year are: a six point incremental scale for operational support grades incorporating a 2.2% increase at maximum & minimum, with a common incremental date of 1 April; OSGs other than probationers will receive their 2008 increment before assimilating to the new scale; a 2.2% conolidated increase to maximum and minimum of officer pay scale, to maximum of scales for night patrol, storeman, assistant storeman and auxiliary grades; a 2.7% consolidated increase to senior officer (SO) salary to the minimum of the PO scale; a 2.7% consolidated increase to maximum of pay range A and a 2.2% increase to maximum of pay ranges B to G and the decoupling of the pay ranges from the pay spine; no change to specialist allowances or to care & maintenance of dogs allowance; a 2.2% increase to the required hours addition (RHA), contracted supplementary hours (CSH), bedwatch, constant watch and Operation Tornado payments and other allowances; no change to locality pay

This is the eleventh report on England and Wales of the Prison Service Pay Review Body. Although this is the second year of a pay freeze for the public sector workers paid more than £21,000 a year, the Body considered evidence from the parties, undertook a visits programme and makes a few key recommendations on pay from 1 April 2012 including a consolidated increase of £250 to all points at or below £21,000

The Prison Service Pay Review Body's tenth report on England and Wales, sets out the following recommendations in respect of pay for 2011, and includes: a consolidated increase of £250 to all pay points at or below £21,000, including the first two points on the closed prison officer scale; that the Service and The Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA) engage promptly in constructive dialogue witn a view to agreeing a structure for the prison officer 2 and prison officer 1 scales and for a new operational support grade, before submitting proposals to the Review Body themselves. The publication is divided into four chapters eight appendices.