§ Mr. Charles Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the caseload of the probation service the supervision of people on parole accounts for; and what percentage of the caseload of the probation service the supervision of people on parole would account for if prisoners serving between six months and three years received automatic parole.
§ Mr. MayhewInformation on the composition of the caseload of the probation and after-care service at 31 December is published annually in "Probation and after-care statistics, England and Wales". (Tables 3 and 4 of the volume for 1979). The latest information relates to 31 December 1979, when the number of persons on parole accounted for 2 per cent. of the persons supervised by the probation and after-care service. It is estimated that if early release on licence had previously been available to prisoners serving sentences of between six months and three years this proportion might have been as high as about 7 per cent.
212W
§ The Prime MinisterMy right hon. Friend's speech was a reflective analysis of the dangers of the coming decade. As such, it was in no way at variance with Government policy, though it was not intended to be a formal policy statement.