Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes private prison operators have requested to make to their training programmes for new prison officers since 2010.

Newly recruited prison officers are required to complete a 12 week Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) course which is reviewed every 6 months by HMPPS Learning & Development. This training provides new officers with 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.

Training for new Prison Custody Officers (PCO’s) at privately managed prisons is required to be of the same standard as that provided to Prison Officers in public sector prisons. When materials for the POELT are updated they are shared with providers who are able to provide feedback on these documents. Successful completion of the training is required before they can be certified as a PCO by HMPPS.

Having well trained staff helps operators of privately managed prisons to ensure they maintain a safe, decent and secure prison as per their contractual obligation. The performance of all providers continues to be robustly managed. We will not hesitate to take action if and when standards fall short.