Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to (a) train and (b) recruit staff in the prison workforce.

We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prisons. We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience.

HMPPS believes that having a high-quality training offer for prison officers ensures that they feel competent in their roles, and that they can do their vital job of reducing reoffending and protecting the public. All new entrants are expected to undergo 10 weeks of initial training, comprised of an induction process that aims to familiarise them with the prison environment by meeting their line manager and colleagues and learning about security procedures. This is followed by face-to-face training at a central or local learning venue of 7 weeks for staff going into the adult male estate, 8 weeks for staff going into the female estate or 9 weeks for those going into the Youth Custody Service. They then return to their establishment for a final week of consolidation and shadowing.

HMPPS is committed to improving prison officer training. Through the ‘Enable Programme’, a dedicated workforce transformation programme, HMPPS is leading a full redesign of prison officer training, aiming to strengthen the training offer through more robust, evidence-based approach. This will include a new 12-month modular package of learning which will support the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours and confidence needed for the modern prison officer role.

Substantive recruitment efforts will continue at all prisons where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need. We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate and look to provide short-term support where needed. All prison expansion projects, whether new prisons or smaller builds, are factored into our staffing forecasts to ensure we recruit on time and build up the experience needed to continue to deliver safe and secure regimes.