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Probation Service

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff taken on by the national probation service since December 1999 are probation service officers; and how many are qualified to complete pre-sentence reports and parole assessments. [168394]

Paul Goggins: The table gives the number of probation service officers (PSOs) recruited in each year since December 1999.
England and Wales1,2

	Probation Service Officers
1999	2,502
2000	2,869
2001	3,566
2002	4,083
30 June 2003(38)	(39)4,807
30 September 2003(40)	5,205

⁽³⁶⁾ Numbers shown as whole-time equivalents.
⁽³⁷⁾ Information shown taken at 31 December.
⁽³⁸⁾ Figures taken from Issue 01, Workforce Information Report published January 2004.
⁽³⁹⁾ Adjusted figure. As a result of checks made with regards to the data submitted for Quarter 2, against that which was submitted for Quarter 1, a small number of areas adjusted and corrected their original returns for Quarter 1.
⁽⁴⁰⁾ Figures taken from Issue 02, Workforce Information Report due to be published April 2004.



 
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PSOs now perform much of the low risk work previously carried out by probation officers, which has in turn allowed probation officers to concentrate on high risk offenders and the completion of those reports that require their level of developed competence. While overall responsibility rests with the supervising probation officer, PSOs frequently contribute to parole assessments. They are also involved in the completion of short format reports.

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per square metre of providing office and storage space in Brecon, Powys was for (a) the Powys Probation Service in 2000 and (b) the National Probation Service in Brecon in 2003. [177733]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The premises costs, including telephones of the Powys Probation Area in the financial year 2000–01 was £73,000, equivalent to £116 per square metre.

With effect from 2003–04, all costs across the whole of the National Probation Estate were paid centrally and pooled. The national average cost per square metre was set at £180. The Dyfed-Powys Probation Area received extra grant income totalling £132,000 to help compensate for the increase in costs.

Recidivism

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to prevent offences being committed by individuals released on bail. [171771]

Paul Goggins: The Government are determined to ensure that the courts give proper and careful consideration before exercising their discretion to grant bail where defendants who are already on bail commit an offence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides that a defendant who applies for bail in respect of an offence that appears to have been committed while he was on bail for another offence may not be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of his offending again.

Refugees (Active Assistance)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the EU draft communication on active assistance for refugees in or near their country of origin will be available. [181039]

Mr. Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 22 June 2004, Official Report, column 1380W, in which I confirmed that the European Commission tabled its communication

"On the managed entry in the EU of persons in need of international protection and the enhancement of the protection capacity of the regions of origin: Improving access to durable solutions"

(COM(2004)410 final) on 4 June 2004.

Rehabilitation Action Plan

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the rehabilitation action plan will be published. [182321]

 
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Paul Goggins: The Government will be publishing a national action plan to reduce re-offending in the summer.

Risk of Sexual Harm Orders

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many risk of sexual harm orders have been issued. [181075]

Paul Goggins: Risk of sexual harm orders were provided for by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which came into force on 1 May 2004. Information on the number of orders made will be collected from the courts annually and the figures for 2004 will be available in the autumn of 2005.

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. [181074]

Paul Goggins: The Sentencing Guidelines Council was established to produce a comprehensive set of guidelines for all courts, enabling them to approach a case from a common starting point. All courts will be required to take the guidelines into account when sentencing offenders, which will lead to greater consistency in sentencing. The Council members were appointed at the end of February and it has met three times so far.

Substance Misuse

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what advice he has given on civil and criminal liability for overdose deaths caused by treatment decisions made by non-medically trained drugs case managers under the National Offender Management Service; [180296]

(2) what training in medicine will be required for a drugs caseworker making decisions on drugs treatment under the National Offender Management Service. [180297]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 24 June 2004]: Treatment for drug misuse may involve clinical interventions (for example detoxification and prescribing) and non-clinical interventions (for example advice on lifestyle and thinking skills). Decisions on the clinical management of individual drug misusers are, and will remain, the responsibility of appropriately qualified health care professionals. Training in medicine is therefore not required for drug caseworkers, although they will be aware in general terms of the pharmacological effects of different drugs.

Teachers (Sexual Abuse)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that teachers accused of sexual abuse are told the nature of the accusation at the start of the investigation. [180015]

Ms Blears: The police and other relevant agencies always agree jointly when to inform a teacher accused of sexual abuse of a child where criminal proceedings are being considered. The document "Working Together to Safeguard Children" contains guidance on the handling
 
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of such allegations and was produced jointly by the Home Office, Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills in December 1999. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) were involved in producing the guidance.

The rights of all suspects are protected by the Codes of Practice produced under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) at all stages of an investigation.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether sexual abuse allegations against teachers remain on file when allegations are proved to be false. [180002]

Ms Blears: Information may be retained by the police when, in their judgement, and having regard to the particular circumstances, there is an operational ground for doing so—for instance, in the interest of the prevention or detection of crime, or public safety, or protection of the vulnerable. The need to continue to keep information must be reviewed in the light of such considerations. We shall be reviewing guidance issued to the police in light of the report of the Bichard Inquiry into matters arising from the Soham case.

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