HL Deb 07 April 1987 vol 486 cc1016-8WA
Lord Elton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What statistical evidence they have about the relative rates of reoffending by comparable groups of offenders in England and Wales who have respectively served custodial sentences and completed courses of Intermediate Treatment.

Baroness Trumpington

The following tables shows the percentage of juvenile offenders discharged from borstal or detention centre in 1982 who were reconvicted within two years:

Discharge from Detention Centre Discharge from Borstal (now Youth Custody)
Male 75 per cent 80 per cent.
Female Not applicable 40 per cent.

No comparable statistical evidence is yet available nationally for reconviction rates among offenders who complete courses of Intermediate Treatment. However, this department is currently funding a research study at Cambridge University to compare the reoffending rate for juvenile offenders who have completed courses of Intermediate Treatment with that for juvenile offenders who have completed custodial sentences.

Lord Elton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many schemes of Intermediate Treatment were in operation in England and Wales at the end of the last three conventional periods of 12 months; how many of them were recognised by the courts:

  1. (a) as suitable for offenders who would otherwise have to receive custodial sentences, and
  2. (b) as suitable only for other classes of offender; and how many places were, on average, during each of those periods:
    1. (i) available, an
    2. (ii) taken up
in each of these categories.

Baroness Trumpington

All local authorities in England and Wales have a statutory duty to provide schemes of Intermediate Treatment, and these schemes would normally be expected to make some provision for offenders who would otherwise receive custodial sentences. Detailed information in the form requested is not, however, held centrally.

Lord Elton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they can give an indication of the relative cost to public funds of providing, in England and Wales, for similar offenders convicted of similar offences:

  1. (a) to serve a custodial sentence, and
  2. (b) to complete a course of Intermediate Treatment.

Baroness Trumpington

The cost of custodial establishments varies according to the type of establishment and the region of the country in which it is situated. In 1985–86, the average net operating cost for all "closed youth establishments" was £267 per inmate per week. The corresponding figure for "open youth establishments" was £320.

Information about the cost of Intermediate Treatment facilities in the form requested is not available centrally. However, this department is currently funding a research study at Kent University to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various forms of Intermediate Treatment compared with other court disposals, both custodial and non-custodial.

Lord Elton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What, in each of the last financial years for which the information is available, has been the contribution to the provision in England and Wales of Intermediate Treatment from public funds by

  1. (a) the Home Office,
  2. (b) the Department of Health and Social Services, and
  3. (c) local authorities.

Baroness Trumpington

The information requested is set out in the table for each year for which it is available from 1983–84 onwards. This was the year in which this department's Intermediate Treatment initiative was launched and also the year in which a statutory duty was laid on local authorities to provide schemes of Intermediate Treatment.

(£'000)
Funding source 1983/84 1984/85 1985/86
DHSS:
IT Initiative 1,039 3,553 3,560
IT Fund Central Government Contribution 415 798 532
Grants under s. 64 710 701 380
Welsh Office:
IT Initiative — 12 66
Local Authorities (1) 11,780 14,595 17,934
Home Office — — —

*Notes:

(1) Source: CIPFA Personal Social Services Statistics—Actuals: Total estimated net expenditure (England and Wales).

(2) There was no central funding from the Home Office, but the Probation Service will, locally, have spent an unquantifiable amount on the support of IT facilities.