Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on plans for a professional register of qualified probation staff.

In July 2020, we published the Probation Workforce Strategy, committing to developing a professional register framework for probation qualified practitioners by 2021/22 that will safeguard standards of practice and increase public confidence in Probation services.

The Probation Workforce Programme is currently prioritising recruitment, learning and development, pay and COVID recovery. However work to support the delivery of the register is progressing, including the design of a post-qualification curriculum and learning and development offer, which would also serve as the Continuous Professional Development requirement for registered professionals to maintain their registration and fitness to practice.