§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future qualifications and training arrangements for new probation officers. [11816]
§ Mr. StrawI hope to proceed quickly to develop a diploma in probation studies, located in higher education and combined with a national vocational qualification, which will become the qualification for new probation officers. I intend that the new arrangements should be employment led and delivered by a consortium of probation services that will manage the recruitment and selection of trainee probation officers.
The combined diploma and NVQ will offer a mixture of academic teaching and work-based supervised practice, all based on the occupational standards that will be developed for probation officers. The new qualification should be delivered through flexible teaching methods that take account of trainees' previous work, academic qualifications and experience so that a wide range of recruits can be attracted to the probation service.
I have decided that training for new probation officers should no longer be linked to social work education. I will be supporting the development of a new and separate diploma in probation studies, which will equip the probation officers of the future to play their full part in this Government's plans for an integrated approach to working with offenders. It will focus on probation's top priority role of protecting the public and reducing crime through effective work with offenders. There will, therefore, be no further funding or support from the Home Office for the diploma in social work.
These arrangements will be developed in partnership with probation service organisations and higher education institutions to provide high-quality training for high-quality recruits.