Press release: Michael Spurr leaving role as Chief Executive of HMPPS

Richard Heaton, Permanent Secretary, said:

Michael is an exceptional public servant. His commitment to the organisation he leads, and to a humane and effective offender management system, has been unflinching, through a period when the system has faced extraordinary pressures, challenges and constraints.

Michael’s leadership has been exemplary. But we now need to look ahead, building on Michael’s work and developing a strategy for the next decade. I have therefore decided that April 2019 is the right time to ask a new chief executive to take on this important role.”

Rt Hon David Gauke MP, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, said:

I am extremely grateful to Michael Spurr for his leadership of HMPPS. His focus has been unwavering on doing the best for his staff and for victims of crime, on discipline in the prison estate and on caring for and rehabilitating offenders. He is an example of the very best of public service and civil service leadership. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Michael into the New Year.

The formal process to appoint Michael Spurr’s successor will start in October this year.

Meanwhile, Michael Spurr remains chief executive of HMPPS, and will be a part of the team that will manage this transition safely and well.

Notes to editors:

  • The Permanent Secretary is taking this opportunity to review the top management structure for HMPPS.
  • Michael Spurr will remain in post as Chief Executive of HMPPS until the end of March 2019 and Michael will contribute to this work over the next 6 months.


Official Statistics: RHI deployment data: August 2018

Monthly statistics for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) programme present the number of applications and accredited installations on the non-domestic and domestic schemes so far.



Official Statistics: Rural deprivation statistics

Updated: Minor amendments to the wording on page 1 to improve the clarity of the text.

Deprivation indicator for people living in rural and urban areas based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

Metadata

Data source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), English Indices of Deprivation (2015), Index of Multiple Deprivation (2015)

Coverage: England

Rural classification used: Office for National Statistics Rural Urban Classification

Next release date: tbc

Defra statistics: rural

You can also contact us via Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefraStats



National Statistics: Household Energy Efficiency National Statistics, headline release September 2018

his release includes measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Green Deal schemes. It also includes further analysis and geographical breakdowns of ECO measures, ECO delivery costs, estimated carbon and energy savings from measures installed and the supply chain. These statistics are provisional and are subject to future revisions.



News story: Supporting Exams Officers

A woman handing out papers in an empty exam hall

Running exams is a tough job and one that requires all-year-round effort as well as particular challenges during the exam season. Ofqual recognises this and has been in discussions with exams officers to find ways we can help them run a smooth, incident-free series.

Working with exams officers, we created a film about the role of the Exams Officer to raise awareness of the important work they do among other school staff and parents.

Ofqual Explores: The Exams Officer

We held a webinar for Exams Officers on Tuesday 13 November 2018, the recording of which you can watch below. A transcript and the PowerPoint slides are also available below.

When things go right: A wider perspective of the exams system

Please note the poll results at 29.15 are incorrect, as respondents were only able to click on one option. Please refer to the re-run of the same poll 54 minutes into the webinar, when this error was corrected.

MS Powerpoint Presentation, 2.92MB

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PDF, 97.1KB, 3 pages

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Summer exams are an all-year-round effort

For many school and college staff, when exam halls are packed up and the ‘silence’ signs disappear, they may be tempted to ask an Exams Officer what they do for the rest of the year. Marcia Woods, Exams Officer at Brookfield Community School in Chesterfield, explains in a guest blog post here.

We have looked at the reasons students might bring their mobile phones into the exam hall, and they might not be what you think. Check our our blog post looking behind the malpractice statistics.

Published 20 September 2018
Last updated 28 March 2019 + show all updates

  1. Included the details of the new film, Ofqual Explores: The Exams Officer
  2. Added student exam checklist and a link to a blogpost on malpractice statistics.
  3. Added responses to questions put to Ofqual during the webinar, and centre practices to help keep mobile phones out of the exam room.
  4. Webinar recording added
  5. First published.