§ Mr. Greg Knightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has given advice to magistrates about offering drug treatment as an alternative to imprisonment to offenders;
(2) what statistics he keeps of the number of offenders offered drug treatments as alternatives to imprisonment;
(3) whether he will monitor the experimental scheme adopted at Horseferry road magistrates' court whereby alcoholic offenders are offered drug treatment as an alternative to imprisonment, with a view to issuing advice to magistrates on such practices.
§ Mr. MellorIf an offender appears to need medical treatment a court may, after consultation with the probation service and with the offender's consent, make a probation order with a requirement that he should receive such treatment. The Home Office has not given detailed guidance and does not keep statistics about the inclusion of specific requirements in probation orders, which must depend on the circumstances of individual offenders; but I understand that Horseferry road magistrates' court has made about 30 probation orders in the last 18 months requiring offenders who have an alcohol problem to receive treatment with the drug Antabuse. The inner London probation committee is taking a close interest in the experiment, and I shall ask to be informed of the results.