My right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Jack Straw) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have today laid before Parliament the seventh report of the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) on the pay of governing governors and other operational managers, prison officers and related support grades in England and Wales in 2008 (Cm 7325). I would like to thank the chair and members of the PSPRB for their hard work in producing these recommendations.

The recommendations include a 2.2 per cent consolidated increase to the minimum and maximum of the operational support grade and prison officer and the maxima of other operational support staff and other operational managerial pay scales.

The PSPRB also recommended a restructuring of the operational support grades pay scale and a 2.7 per cent increase to the minimum of the principal officer pay scale, the senior officer single salary point and the maximum of the highest paid operational managers.

The Government remain committed to the independent pay review body process. This award is consistent with the achievement of the Government’s 2 per cent CPI inflation target which helps contribute to low and stable inflation, macroeconomic stability and economic growth. I am pleased to confirm that the PSPRB’s recommendations will be implemented in full from 1 April 2008. The cost of the award will be met from within the delegated budget allocation for the Prison Service.

The key pay review body recommendations are:

Support Grades

a 2.2 per cent consolidated increase to the minimum and maximum of the operational support grade, and the maximum of other operational staff pay scales; and

a restructuring of the operational support grades pay scale.

Prison Officers

a 2.2 per cent consolidated increase to the minimum and maximum of the prison officer pay scale; and

continuation of incremental increases for prison officers within the pay scale.

Senior Officers

a 2.7 per cent consolidated increase to the senior officer single salary point.

Principal Officers

a 2.2 per cent consolidated increase to the maximum and a 2.7 per cent increase to the minimum of the principal officer scale.

Operational Managers

a 2.7 per cent consolidated increase to the highest paid operational managers and a 2.2 per cent consolidated increase to the maximum of other operational managerial pay scales;

decoupling of the operational manager pay spine into seven separate pay ranges; and

continuation of performance-related increases for operational managers within the pay range.