§ Mr. Berminghamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources he is allocating to the probation service to assist its work with remand prisoners.
§ Mr. MellorMost probation officers spend some of their time helping in connection with persons on remand. In particular, probation committees assign probation officers to prison department establishments, where they play an active role in the throughcare of all inmates, including those on remand. The cost of the salaries and allowances of the probation officers so assigned, of whom there were 493 on 31 December 1986, is reimbursed in full by Prison Department.
In addition to this general current work, the probation services in Hereford and Worcester, Leicestershire, Greater Manchester, Northumbria, Staffordshire and the West Midlands are experimenting with a number of different schemes, mainly court-based, which are aimed at reducing the remand prison population; and the inner London probation service is planning to start a scheme next week, based at Wormwood Scrubs prison. With one exception, all these experimental schemes are being provided for from within existing probation service resources, which are 80 per cent. funded by the Home Office and 20 per cent. funded by the local authorities. The salary and allowances of the leader of the two-year pilot project at Brockhill remand centre is being reimbursed in full by prison department.