Mr. ALFRED DAVIES (Clitheroe)asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to a statement in the Report of the Departmental Committee on the training, appointment and payment of probation officers which shows that in 1919, 12 years after the passing of the Probation of Offenders Act, there were 215 courts of summary jurisdiction in England and Wales in which no steps had been taken to appoint a probation officer; whether there are still 215 courts in this position; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any steps regarding the appointment of these officers?
§ Mr. SHORTTThe number of courts of summary jurisdiction in England and Wales with no probation officer in January, 1922, when the last returns were made, was 198. As I stated in the reply which I have to a similar question by the Noble Lord the Member for south Nottingham on the 23rd May, I am communicating with the courts in regard to this and other matters dealt with in the Committee's Report.