Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what leadership training is routinely provided to officers moving up the ranks in the Prison Service.

Officers have a wide range of leadership training available to them as they progress through the ranks.

All Ministry of Justice staff have access to a wide suite of cross-government training products available via Government Campus (part of Cabinet Office). These product topics include Coaching, Building your Team, and Career Development.

All Ministry of Justice staff also have access to two, four-day, intensive Leadership Schools per annum, focused on unlocking the potential to improve and transform their leadership capabilities. Leadership School provides keynote speeches, expert-led workshops, and in-depth peer reflection sessions, to ensure that leaders are equipped to use new capabilities in their roles.

In addition, MoJ HQ has developed a new HMPPS Leadership and Management Offer specifically for HMPPS staff (elements of this include the HMPPS People Manager Handbook and HMPPS People Manager Essentials Programme). HMPPS staff also have access to a wealth of free online resources on the myLearning Learning Management System.

There are several funded Leadership apprenticeships on offer for HMPPS staff, and a small number of leadership training interventions for HMPPS are provided by external providers.

The Spark Custodial scheme is an operational fast-track scheme for Public Sector Prisons, open to Operational Bands 2-4 and Non-Operational up to and including Band 6, that enables them to progress to Head of Function. The scheme lasts around 30 months for operational participants and 36 months for non-operational participants.