§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many members of boards of visitors at Her Majesty's prisons in England and Wales have not attended mandatory training courses; what central records of training are maintained by the Boards of Visitors Directorate of the Prison Service; and whether they will introduce a system analogous to that which is in operation for lay magistrates, whereby failure to attend automatically leads to formal warnings. [HL326]
186WA
§ Lord Williams of MostynInformation on the number of board members who have not attended mandatory courses is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The requirement for training to be mandatory arose from the 1995 ministerial review. New members and newly elected chairmen are currently subject to mandatory training. How such training will apply to experienced members is currently being considered. As central records for all members are completed there will be enough evidence to support the issue of formal warnings when mandatory requirements have not been met.