HC Deb 17 January 1978 vol 942 cc132-4W
Mr. Charles Irving

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male offenders and (b) female offenders were made subject to community service orders in 1976; of these offenders, how many were aged between 17 and 20 years, inclusive; how many of these orders were for up to 99 hours, 100–149 hours, 150–199 hours and 200–240 hours and how many were made by the Crown court and how many by magistrates' courts.

Mr. John

The information readily available is as follows:

Mr. Charles Irving

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were made subject to community service orders between 1st January 1973 and 31st December 1976.

Mr. John

The figures on the principal offence basis published in successive issues of Criminal Statistics total 13,986 for the period 1st January 1973 to 31st December 1976.

Mr. Charles Irving

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community service orders were revoked over the period 1st January 1973 to 31st December 1976.

Mr. John

Information is not available in the form requested.

Returns made by the probation service indicate that community service orders were revoked in 1,372 cases over the period 1st January 1973 to 30th November 1976, the closest period for which data are available. In some of these cases more than one order may have been involved.

Mr. Spearing

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of persons made the subject of community service orders in the North-East London probation area for the latest convenient year, the numbers of these persons who would otherwise have been imprisoned, the estimated costs per year to public funds for each form of punishment; and if there are any restraints on the operation of this system in North-East London.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

I understand that 206 persons in the North-East London probation area were given community service orders between 1st December 1976 and 30th November 1977. I am unable to say how many of those would have been sentenced to imprisonment had community service arrangements not been available. Figures for current expenditure on community service are not available separately from those on expenditure on the probation service as a whole, but I shall write to my hon. Friend with such information as is available. Details of expenditure on the Prison Service appear annually in the report of the work of the Prison Department. Cmnd. 6877 contains information for the financial year 1975–76.

There are currently no restraints on the operation of community service arrangements in North-East London.