§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of training court welfare officers in each of the last two years; and what training was made available to such officers. [77556]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe total spent on centrally supported training for family court welfare officers was £68,950 in 1997–98 and £65,710 in 1998–99. This training took the form of a modular learning programme for staff new to family court welfare work. Additional training has been provided by individual probation services, but figures for the amounts spent are not held centrally. There is also a training manual, "An introduction to the work of the family court welfare service", which was prepared in 1996 by the Association of Chief Officers of Probation, and a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is provided to(a) court welfare officers and (b) relevant members of the judiciary on parental alienation syndrome. [77558]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe training material provided for family court welfare officers covers the psychology of children in separating families. The training of members of the judiciary is a matter for the Lord Chancellor.