Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the continuing professional development of existing prison officers.

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) already have a wide range of learning resources, including face to face courses in specialist areas such as Offender Management, Safer Custody, Use of Force, Hostage Negotiator and Intelligence. The content of all HMPPS’ learning programmes is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect policy and legislative changes and the changing needs of the organisation.

HMPPS are also planning to launch a new interactive learning catalogue this year, which will help our workforce to better understand the learning offer and make greater use of continuous learning so they have the tools and capabilities to support offenders in the modern prison environment.