National Probation Service

HC Deb 23 June 2003 vol 407 cc601-2W

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish a national workload agreement for the National Probation Service. [118790]

Paul Goggins

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, through the National Probation Directorate, is not planning to publish a national workload agreement as this is a matter for each individual Probation Board and its employees. 41 of the 42 Probation Areas in the National Probation Service for England and Wales have recently reached local agreements on workload, and negotiations continue in the final Area. The National Probation Directorate has provided a workload prioritisation framework and is running a project to develop a national workload measurement tool.