Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how often training is provided to prison officers by HM Prison Service.

Newly recruited Prison Officers receive a 12 week Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) course. This provides a foundation level of training in all core skill areas including interpersonal skills, mental health awareness, equality, violence reduction and safer custody, alongside the more traditional security awareness and practical skills needed to be a prison officer.

Additional training is available throughout the year for Officers once they have completed their POELT training as part of their continued professional development and is in line with their personal development plans which are agreed with managers every year. Training is available in Offender Management, Incident Management, Intelligence and Security.

Officers are able to access additional face to face training and e-learning via Civil Service Learning (CSL) and the Justice Academy.