Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of operational prisoner officers at each band have received mental health awareness training; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of that training in reducing self-harm and suicides in prisons; and if she will make it her policy to ensure that all operational prison officers receive that training.

All new Prison Officers receive Mental Health Awareness training as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT). All establishments provide mental health training for Prison Officers. The ‘Introduction to Mental Health’ course and ‘Introduction to Safer Custody’ course are delivered locally for all operational Prison Officers Band 3, 4 and 5.