§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have served more than two community service orders; and what plans he has to set a maximum on the number of such orders that can be served before a custodial sentence must be imposed. [22520]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerA sample of offenders convicted in 1993 suggests that about 3,700 who receive a community service order had been sentenced to community service on at least two previous occasions. It is for the sentencing court to decide whether or not a custodial sentence is justified in the light of all the circumstances before it, having regard to the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 as amended. Those provisions enable the court to take account of the offender's failure to respond to previous sentences.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to improve community service orders and to ensure that breaches of such orders are properly punished. [22521]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerOn 9 March, my right hon. and learned Friend published revised national standards for the supervision of offenders in the community, which tighten up the way in which community service orders must be run and enforced. A copy of the 1995 standards is in the Library.