§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal, on 11 March (WA 190) whether they will give a breakdown of the figure of £706, being the average cost of supervising and administering 40 hours of community service. [HL2270]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)The unit cost of a 40 hour 59WA Community Punishment Order will vary according to a number of factors. These include:
- the type of work undertaken and the distance involved in attending or supervising a placement;
- whether the offender undertakes in the course of their order extra activities designed to improve their employment-related skills;
- whether the offender complies with an order or breaches it incurring the additional costs of a court appearance;
- local arrangements for staffing and supervision of offenders.
However, a costing exercise undertaken in 2002–03 with local probation boards indicated that the average length of an order is 116.5 hours and the average cost £2,005. The average cost of a 40 hour order—the shortest possible—is £706.
The cost of such an order can be broken down into staffing costs and scheme delivery costs.
£ per average order £ per 40-hour order Staffing costs 1,020 350 Scheme delivery costs1 1,035 355 Total costs 2,055 706 1Scheme delivery costs include provision of transport and equipment for work placements; staff training to ensure that the delivery of the enhanced community punishment scheme is of high quality and the tutoring of offenders in key skills as a means of increasing their employability, thereby reducing the likelihood of them reoffending.