HC Deb 19 March 1996 vol 274 cc157-8W
Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of training received by prison officers at(a) Buckley Hall prison and (b) other male category C training prisons. [21054]

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from A. J. Pearson to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 19 March 1996:

The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the level of training received by prison officers at (a) Buckley Hall prison and (b) in other male category C training prisons.

The contract for Buckley Hall prison specifies the level of staff training, both basic and continuing, which the contractor is required to meet.

The detail of how these requirements are fulfilled is a matter for Group 4.

All new prison officers joining other category C establishments will have received nine weeks training in both theoretical and practical skills.