HM Prison and Probation Service is taking “immediate action” to set up an independent unit to deal with bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence as part of an effort to end a “toxic culture” in which complaints are often covered up and ignored.
The new, central unit – set out in HMPPS’s response to a professional-standards review yesterday –represents a “fundamental shift from how BHDV complaints are currently handled within HMPPS”, the executive agency said.
In a speech at HMP High Down in Surrey yesterday, James Timpson, the prisons, probation, and reducing reoffending minister, announced a series of reforms, warning that unacceptable behaviour in prisons and probation services has become “normalised, tolerated, and accepted over time”. He added that HMPPS is taking "take swift and decisive action" to tackle it.
The plans are set out in HMPPS’s response to a review carried out by Jennifer Rademaker, a non-executive director for the Ministry of Justice, which was commissioned in 2023.
The review, which examined the HR processes and culture for dealing with professional standards complaints, found there is no central record of bullying, harassment, and discrimination complaints at the agency, and that many complaints are handled informally or go unreported.
Rademaker’s review identified a “perceived fear of retaliation for reporting a complaint”, and said the “highly networked nature” of the prison service has compounded staff’s concerns about “finding a safe, neutral party and getting a fair hearing”.
Rademaker pointed to the results of the 2023 Civil Service People Survey, in which 12% of HMPPS staff said they had experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months, with the same percentage saying they had experienced discrimination – compared to 8% and 7% respectively across the civil service. Of those HMPPS staff who answered that they experienced bullying and harassment, 43% did not report the experience and 36% said they felt punished for reporting it.
“Employees that I spoke to are watching for tangible signs of a step change in how BHD is handled by HMPPS. It is crucial that HMPPS makes tangible change on the ground that employees can see, which in turn gives them reason to trust that BHD will not be tolerated by HMPPS,” she said.
In the review, Rademaker called on the agency to “establish an independent channel outside of the line management structure” for investigating complaints of bullying, harassment and discrimination. This channel should enable trained personnel to “handle matters in a ring-fenced, confidential, and standardised process”, she said.
In its response, HMPPS said it had worked with the MoJ’s people and capability unit to consider how best to put the recommendation into practice.
The new team will be a joint unit of “suitably qualified and experienced” HMPPS staff working with MoJ HR professionals. The team, which will sit outside the line-management chain, will decide on the most appropriate route to handle each complaint, and take charge of handling the most serious and complex allegations.
The service will also appoint an independent commissioner for HMPPS professional standards – a new role – to provide independent and impartial oversight of the unit. They will also review whether the reforms provide a system that is efficient, effective and fair, reporting publicly each year on their findings and making recommendations for further improvement as needed.
HMPPS said it will work with trade unions and colleagues to develop the model including routes of triage, resolution, investigation and decision-making. It will also need to consult with recognised trade unions on proposals to make the necessary changes to HR policies, it said.
The unit will build on the work of HMPPS’s Tackling Unacceptable Behaviour Unit, which provides a confidential helpline and mediation service for staff as well as a programme of assessments to identify and address unacceptable behaviour. Since the TUBU was set up in 2020, demand for its services has grown each year, with 2023-24 seeing a 37% increase in helpline calls and a 44% increase in referrals for mediation compared to the year before; followed by a 23% increase in helpline calls and 5% increase in mediation referrals in 2024-25.
An effort to 'rebuild trust'
In a speech at HMP High Down in Surrey, Lord Timpson called Rademaker‘s findings "sobering" and said they show bullying, intimidation, and harassment at HMPPS have "gone unchecked for far too long".
He said the message arising from her findings is clear: that “there is a fundamental, devastating, lack of trust in how complaints of bullying, discrimination and harassment are dealt with”.
“Too many staff feel unable to speak out, fearing they won’t be believed; that it will only make matters worse – because the hierarchy above them will close ranks – and that nothing will be done. This isn’t a culture that we should stand for,” he said.
He said the “realities of the situation as they exist today” are that people making a complaint often know it will be investigated by a senior manager who is friends with the person harassing them; that complaints are sometimes passed on to perpetrator; and that paperwork may not be kept confidential.
The reforms being announced are an effort to “rebuild that trust”, he said.
Further recommendations
The review included 11 further recommendations, including a call to improve data collection and reporting on complaints. Rademaker said HMPPS should consolidate formal complaints into one database and provide regular reports to senior leadership and key stakeholders, including monitoring of targets related to employee experience and policy guidelines. She also suggested HMPPS should consider reporting metrics on BHD matters and outcomes on a regular basis to all employees.
In response, the agency said it will publish BHDV metrics and outcomes “in a way that protects individuals’ right to confidentiality but meets the aim of improving confidence in reporting and ensuring clarity of expectations of professional standards and the potential consequences of misconduct”.
The first iteration of reporting to senior leaders will begin by next month, followed by wider engagement, including consultation with trade unions, HMPPS said. High-level metrics and outcomes will then be published by October.
HMPPS has also agreed to seek Rademaker’s input on new policies and procedures before they are signed off, as recommended in the review; and, working with MoJ's people and capability unit, to review the content and quality of performance conversations. The review said HMPPS should consider whether performance feedback is “effective across all branches and where there are opportunities to improve on it to better support communicating, documenting and reinforcing expectations on professional standards behaviour”.
The review also urged HMPPS to review its process for handling workplace adjustments, after finding the existing workplace adjustment passport model "does not appear to be a particularly effective mechanism for supporting employees in securing the adjustments they need".
In response, HMPPS said the MoJ Workplace Adjustment Service offer, including the role of line managers in responding appropriately to requests for reasonable adjustments, was reviewed as part of a three-year review cycle in autumn 2024.