---

24 Feb 2003 : Column 121W—continued

Prisoners (Drug Treatment)

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effect on drug users of RAPt in the prisons at which RAPt runs programmes. [97683]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 13 February 2003]: Initial research into reconviction rates of RAPt, Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners' Trust programme graduates is encouraging; it shows a 40 per cent. reconviction rate, compared to an expected 51 per cent.

Emerging findings suggest that, for graduates who receive secondary aftercare on release, reconviction rates can be as low as 30 per cent., compared to expected rate of 54 per cent.

Probation Service

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation staff left the Probation Service in England and Wales in each financial year since 1997–98, broken down by grade. [93301]

Hilary Benn: The information requested is as follows:

Number of leavers⁽²³⁾—England and Wales

	1997	1998	1999	2000	(24)2001–02
Deputy chief officers	4	6	1	9	7
Assistant chief officers(25)	31	18	18	17	75
Senior probation officers	87	84	104	313	148
Probation officers(26)	485	465	612	593	417
Probation service officers(27)	169	210	233	290	(27)—
All other staff	760	729	596	429	1,266
Total	1,536	1,512	1,664	1,651	1,913

⁽²³⁾ Figures shown in headcount and were collected for calendar years only 1997–2000 inclusive.

⁽²⁴⁾ 1,200 staff moved to family court welfare in April 2001. Information on specific grades of these staff are unavailable and therefore have been taken from probation officers and all other staff.

⁽²⁵⁾ Includes area managers.

⁽²⁶⁾ Includes senior practitioners, trainee probation officers, temporary probation officers.

⁽²⁷⁾ PSOs included in other staff 2001–02 onwards.

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the forecast spending is on investment in the Probation Service from 2003 to 2008. [98188]

Hilary Benn: The summary budget for the National Probation Service is set out in the table.

£ million

	2002–03	2003–04
Probation Boards Revenue Grant	520.0	560.0
Hostels Revenue Grant	42.7	49.0
Probation Officer Training	42.0	53.0
Estates and Hostels Capital Programme	18.3	18.3
National Directorate Budgets	52.8	65.7
Total	675.8	746.0

The major items of capital investment are the £18.3 million on the commercial estate and hostels and investment in new information technology equipment.

Budgets for 2004–05 and 2005–06 have not yet been finalised. Budgets from 2005–06 onwards are subject to the next spending review.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 122W

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what forecast his Department has made of the number of probation officers required to manage the caseloads of non-custodial sentences; and if he will make a statement. [98189]

Hilary Benn: The most recent information regarding the current staff establishment of the National Probation Service is as follows:

	Number
Probation officers	7,506
Probation Services officers	3,566
Other staff	4,716

Source:

RDS Probation statistics 2001.

It is estimated that the provisions within the Criminal Justice Bill would require an additional 2,000 full-time equivalent probation officers and an additional 1,500 full-time equivalent Probation Services officers in the year of full implementation.

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation officers were employed by the National Probation Service in each year since 1990. [98191]

Hilary Benn: The information requested is as follows:

Numbers of probation officers^(28),(29)— England and Wales

	Probation officers	Probation service officers	Total
1990	6,909	1,791	8,700
1991	7,153	1,863	9,016
1992	7,484	1,881	9,365
1993	7,666	1,942	9,608
1994	7,776	1,971	9,747
1995	7,455	1,914	9,369
1996	7,312	1,895	9,207
1997	7,149	1,919	9,068
1998	7,193	2,027	9,220
1999	7,519	2,502	10,021
2000	7,571	2,869	10,440
2001	7,506	3,566	11,072

⁽²⁸⁾ Numbers shown as whole time equivalents

⁽²⁹⁾ Information shown taken at 31 December.

Although the question specifically asks for the number of probation officers, the information on probation service officers has also been provided. There has been an increasing growth in the use of probation service officers to support the work undertaken by probation officers. In particular, the use of accredited programme has seen a number of low/medium risk offenders supervised as part of a group rather than on an individual basis as has occurred in the past. Probation service officers, who receive specific training to enable them to manage these programmes and supervise the offenders participating, run these accredited programmes.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 123W

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many departmental minutes issued by his Department were outstanding on 30 November 2002 that referred to public-private partnerships, as included in Table B14 of the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts; and what their value was. [89423]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 13 January 2003]: The contingent liabilities associated with the Home Department's public-private partnerships at 30 November 2002 were as follows:

1. Her Majesty's Prison Service—The Crown acts as insurer of last resort in respect of contracts to design, construct, manage and finance new prisons. The liability runs for the construction period plus an operational period of 25 years in respect of each new prison. Amount: unquantifiable;

2. Police Information and Technology Unit—The Airwave Project with 02 (formerly the mobile communications arm of BT) for the Police Service. The estimated costs of termination range from £480 million to more than £700 million. There would also be additional costs associated with the introduction of an alternative to Airwave;

3. Home Office Pay and Pension Service—Covering the potential loss of Home Office funds transmitted using the contractor's equipment. The risk is small as the contract includes all the usual safeguards for the authorisation process required by the Bankers Automated Clearing System.

Potential, but unlikely, largest single risk £80 million; and

4. The Home Office contract with Sirius for providing computer services. The estimated costs of termination range from £14.14 million to £33.62 million.

Young Offenders

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken to assess the impact on re-offending rates of offenders who have completed the National Grid Transco Foundation in Reading young offender institution; and if he will make a statement. [98193]

Hilary Benn: The National Grid Transco Foundation supports the delivery of gas groundwork engineering training and forklift truck driving training for prisoners at Reading young offender institution. None of the nine prisoners who have completed the gas groundwork engineering training, and only six of more than 90 prisoners who have completed the forklift truck driving training, are reported as having re-offended since their release. The Prison Service is now working with the National Grid Transco Foundation to introduce the training at other establishments.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 124W

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will answer the question of 15 January 2003 from the hon. Member for Woking, concerning restraining orders for serial offenders; [95070]

(2) when he will answer the question of 15 January 2003 from the hon. Member for Woking, concerning travel restriction orders. [95071]

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 31 January 2003, Official Report, column 398W. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Retail Industry Crime

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 585W, on Retail Industry Crime, how many small retail businesses have (a) applied for and (b) received a grant from the Government to improve security on their property; and if he will list those consulted in the preparation of the new survey of crime affecting retail and manufacturing business. [97263]

Mr. Denham: Funding under the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas Initiative is allocated directly to regional Crime Reduction Directors, whose responsibility it is to distribute the money to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) covering the 10 per cent. most deprived wards in the region. Proposals invited from CDRPs have to meet the scheme's strict criteria, and are worked up in close conjunction with the regional Crime Reduction Director, who submits them to me for approval. All proposals submitted to me in the first two years of the initiative have been approved without exception.

Overall, in the first year of the initiative (2001–02), almost 3,000 small businesses benefited, while in the second year over 4,500 retailers and small businesses stand to benefit from this funding.

The Crime Against Business survey is funded jointly by the Home Office, Her Majesty's Treasury, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and the Small Business Service (an agency of the Department for Trade and Industry). The British Retail Consortium, British Chambers of Commerce, and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have also been consulted and closely involved in the survey. Representatives from all the above organisations, public and private, have participated from the outset as steering group members and tender panel representatives and have also had input into the survey methodology and questionnaire content.

The Association of Conveniences Stores, the Federation of Small Business and the British Shops and Stores Association have pledged their support for the survey.

Telephone interviews and postal questionnaires were piloted with members of the business community.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 125W

---