Mr. Trotter askedthe Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the community service order for offenders scheme is in operation in the Northumberland probation area; and whether he will now extend the scheme to the remainder of the area.
§ Mr. JohnCommunity service arrangements now exist, in Northumberland, in the petty sessions areas of Blyth, Morpeth Ward and Wansbeck. It will be for the Northumbria Probation and After-Care Committee, which covers both the172W county of Northumberland and the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, to decide when to extend these arrangements to the rest of Northumberland having regard to the resources available to it. As my right hon. Friend indicated recently in the debate on the Address on 7th November—[Vol. 938, c. 320.]—additional resources will be made available for community service schemes during 1978–79. Proposals for the extension of schemes to areas which have not yet got them will have first call on these resources.