Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a professional register of qualified probation staff in meeting the goals of the Probation Workforce Strategy.

We set out in the Probation Workforce Strategy that establishing a professional register is a key deliverable for the Probation Workforce Programme. A professional register and framework will play a vital role in our objective of supporting and developing our people, whilst providing assurance that staff are adhering to practice standards. This will provide both a clear framework to safeguard practice and pathways for continuous professional development for our staff.