Stormont’s next decision on prison staff pay is coming into view. In material published by GOV.UK on 27 May 2026, Prison Service Pay Review Body chair Tijs Broeke told Justice Minister Naomi Long that oral evidence has now finished and the 2026 Northern Ireland report is expected in late July. (gov.uk)

This round covers operational staff in the Northern Ireland Prison Service for the year from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The key point for Northern Ireland is that this is Stormont’s timetable, not Whitehall’s: GOV.UK says the Northern Ireland Government decides when to respond and when the findings are published. (gov.uk)

Naomi Long’s activation letter, published on 5 March 2026, set a firm frame for the round. The Justice Minister asked the review body to make recommendations within its terms of reference, stay mindful of Northern Ireland public sector pay guidance, keep in step with wider public sector pay policy and make sure any changes to pay or allowances fit inside the Department of Justice budget for operational prison grades. (gov.uk)

That budget warning is not a side note. In her letter, Long said the Executive is dealing with affordability pressures across departments this year, which places affordability squarely at the centre of this prison pay round. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

Timing matters as much as the headline number. Long noted that the 2024 pay award was implemented in January 2025 and the 2025 award in August 2025, before saying she hoped the 2026 evidence timetable would allow an earlier settlement. For staff waiting on the next decision, those dates are more than admin detail. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

There is at least some recent precedent for movement when agreement can be reached. Long wrote in March that the review body’s backing for the 2025-26 proposals helped secure significant changes to pay structures and timely payment, and GOV.UK records that the 2025-26 award agreed between NIPS and recognised trade unions was accepted in full by the Northern Ireland Government. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

Broeke’s reply was brief, but it put the next date on the record. After the oral evidence session on 18 May, he thanked Long, Beverley Wall and Northern Ireland Prison Service officials for their written and oral evidence and said the review body would aim to submit its report in late July. From there, the next call sits with Stormont. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)