Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff have received additional training to enable them to provide mentoring support to new prison officers in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Information for mentoring across the whole estate is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

As part of the 10 prisons project around 60 experienced officers were selected to take up the coaching roles to form Standards Coaching Teams. This required the officers to complete a two-week training course. These officers will support new recruits and ensure good practice is delivered consistently across the 10 jails. The team will provide advice and encouragement to inexperienced officers to build their confidence, particularly in their relationships with prisoners. The team is also supporting all staff to get the basics right and meet consistently high standards in routine tasks such as cell checks.