§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the programme of inspections of each county probation force by HMIP and what thematic inspections are planned. [44846]
§ Ms QuinBetween 1994 and the end of 1998, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation will have inspected each area probation service once under its quality and effectiveness inspection programme. This programme also involves a follow up inspection about 18 months after the publication of the area inspection report. Consideration is now being given to the form of inspection which will follow the completion of the quality and effectiveness programme.
641WFuture thematic inspection reports will cover probation hostels, life sentence prisoners (jointly with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons) and supervision plans.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of days sick leave taken by probation staff in each grade in each probation service in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [44852]
§ Ms QuinThe information requested is not collected centrally; however, a recent study based on samples of probation service staff suggested that the average sick leave across services in 1997 was about nine days.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (1) was the staff turnover rate for each category of staff in each probation service in England and Wales in each of the last three years; [44851]
(2) what were the absenteeism or unauthorised absence rates for each grade of probation staff in each probation service in England and Wales in the last three years. [44850]
§ Ms QuinThe information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average case load for each probation service in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [44853]
§ Ms QuinThe readily available information refers to the court order caseload for 1995 and 1996 and is shown in the table. In addition to the 15.6 cases per officer shown, there were 12.0 cases of pre and post-release supervision for England and Wales. The latter figure would be available by probation area only at disproportionate cost.
642W
Table: Average caseload1 of criminal court orders per maingrade officer2 Cases per officer England and Wales 31 December 1995 1996 Avon 19.2 20.2 Bedfordshire 13.2 14.3 Berkshire 15.1 16.5 Cambridgeshire 11.5 12.9 Cheshire 13.1 16.2 Cornwall 14.4 24.3 Cumbria 11.8 14.2 Derbyshire 15.1 18 Devon 14.7 15.0 Dorset 16.9 16.4 Durham 18.5 22.8 Essex 13.9 14.7 Gloucestershire 18.0 17.6 Hampshire 14.1 15.3 Hereford & Worcester 10.7 12.9 Hertfordshire 14.2 16.3 Humberside 18.0 19.6 Kent 16.5 18.6 Lancashire 16.3 16.4 Leicestershire 11.5 13.2 Lincolnshire 13.4 13.0 Greater Manchester 15.9 17.1 Merseyside 12.5 13.2 Norfolk 11.8 14.2 Northamptonshire 9.3 10.0 Northumbria 13.6 14.9 Nottinghamshire 12.3 14.1 Oxford & Buckingham 12.2 13.3
Table: Average caseload1 of criminal court orders per maingrade officer2 Cases per officer England and Wales 31 December 1995 1996 Shropshire 13.6 13.3 Somerset 14.3 16.0 Staffordshire 15.5 16.6 Suffolk 10.7 12.8 Surrey 12.3 13.3 East Sussex 11.9 13.7 West Sussex 13.1 12.5 Teesside 18.0 20.3 Warwickshire 14.3 16.1 West Midlands 14.9 15.7 Wiltshire 15.3 16.0 North Yorkshire 16.6 18.4 South Yorkshire 13.1 15.1 West Yorkshire 15.2 16.2 Inner London 15.6 15.9 NE London 12.2 14 SE London 15.1 14.4 SW London 11.8 13.3 Middlesex 13.4 14.8 Dyfed 18.3 20.4 Gwent 15.3 17.9 North Wales 14.0 15.8 Powys 18.3 20.1 South Glamorgan 12.1 11.2 Mid Glamorgan 13.8 14.2 West Glamorgan 15.1 15.0 All areas 14.4 15.6 1 Excludes community services. Includes cases supervised by staff other than maingrade officers Excludes persons with life supervision. Persons receiving more than 1 supervision are counted in the court orders caseload only for the first supervision which applies
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy to maintain a network of probation offices outside the largest towns and cities. [45331]
§ Ms QuinThe probation service needs to provide supervision programmes and facilities which are reasonably accessible to offenders who are required to attend. The number and location of offices are for probation committees to determine within the grant provision they have. In reaching decisions, I look to committees to take account of the potential additional costs and savings which more centralisation of accommodation could bring; the potential effect on operations and enforcement; and the potential contribution which other, more flexible, arrangements (such as mobile offices) might make in their circumstances.