To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff aged between 16 and 18 were employed by his Department and its predecessor (a) directly and (b) through an employment agency in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of these were given time off work to undertake some form of training; and what proportion were provided with some form of training (i) wholly and (ii) partially funded by his Department. (171270)

There are no central figures available based on the age of staff undertaking training and figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice promotes a range of further education and skills development for all our staff, irrespective of age, and is committed to equality of opportunity for all.