§ 106. Wing Commander Bullusasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the average case loads, respectively, of men and women probation officers in London whose case loads are not reduced because they are in part-time employment or who, for some other reason, do not carry full case loads.
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§ Mr. RentonI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave on 4th February to an identical Question by the hon. Member for Islington, South-West (Mr. A. Evans).
§ Mr. Skeffingtonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of applicants for training as probation officers have been accepted each year since 1954; and what percentage in each of these years of those who were accepted for training was rejected as unsuitable before the completion of the course of training.
§ Mr. RentonThe following table gives the information available.
(1) (2) (3) Year Applicants accepted as a percentage of applications received Percentage of successful applicants rejected to date before completing training 1954 … 10 6 1955 … 6 5 1956 … 13 5 1957 … 17 6 1958 … 19 1 NOTES:
(1) The only information readily available is of the number in each year of (a) applications received; (b) applicants accepted; and (c) successful applicants rejected before completing training. While (b) and (c) are expressed in the above table as percentages of (a) and (b) respectively, the applicants accepted for, or rejected before completing, training in each year may not have applied or been accepted for training in that year.
(2) The figures in column (3) for 1955 onwards are provisional, as some of those accepted in those years have not completed their training.
§ 107. Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average case load among men probation officers, excluding part-time appointments, as well as those of senior and other officers who, because of other duties, do not carry full case loads in England and Wales; on the basis of 60 cases per officer, as suggested by the departmental committee of 1936, how many additional officers are required and what percentage shortage is disclosed; and, in calculating case loads, what 116W allowance is made for the differences in the demands of rural and urban areas.
§ Mr. RentonMy right hon. Friend does not have complete statistics for a later date than 31st December, 1957, but he is informed that a recent inquiry by the Joint Negotiating Committee for the Probation Service showed that on 1st August, 1958, 720 whole-time men probation officers, serving 105 out of 115 probation areas, had an average case-load of 66; 72 more officers would have been needed to reduce the average to 60: a shortage of 9.1 per cent.
The Departmental Committee did not make precise recommendations as to caseloads. In recent years the Home Office has advised probation committees that the desirable case load for men is between 50 and 60 according to the nature and circumstances of the area.