§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the proposed diploma in probation studies will require a full-time course of study; how long the course will last; and at which institutions it will be available. [12731]
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§ Joyce QuinThe new arrangements for the recruitment and training of probation officers, which I announced in a reply to the hon. member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr. Twigg) on 29 July,Official Report, column 151, will be employment led. Trainee probation officers will be employed by their local probation services while they work towards the new combined diploma and national vocational qualification. The length of the training period will vary according to trainees' previous work and academic experience. Work is under way to implement these new arrangements, but it is too early to say which institutions will offer the diploma.