HC Deb 10 December 1993 vol 234 cc411-2W
Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost of custody per inmate month in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 10 December 1993: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the cost of custody per inmate month. The average monthly cost of holding an inmate in custody was £2,142 for 1992–93.

Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average monthly cost of a supervision order combined with intensive intermediate treatment or specified activities in the last year for which figures are available;

(2) what was the average monthly cost of a probation order in the last year for which figures are available;

(3) what was the average monthly cost of a community service order in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Maclean

The latest information on the costs of probation and community service orders is set out in table 12.3 of "Probation Statistics, England and Wales, 1992", which is in the Library of the House.

The average monthly costs of a probation order is estimated at £98 and the average monthly cost of a community service order is estimated at £95. The costs of supervision orders when combined with other requirements may vary greatly and the equivalent figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost of custody per inmate month in(a) open and (b) closed youth establishments in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 10 December 1993: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the cost of custody per inmate month in open and closed youth establishments. In 1992–93 the average monthly cost of holding an inmate in an open youth establishment and a closed youth establishment was £2,747 and £2,132 respectively.

Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average monthly cost of cautioning-plus schemes in the last year for which figures are available;

(2) what was the average cost of administering a caution in the last year in which figures are available.

Mr. Maclean

No figures are available on the cost of administering a caution. Although it is not possible to calculate the average monthly cost of so called "caution-plus" schemes, information from two long established schemes suggests that the average cost of each supported caution is in the range £300-£1,100.

Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average monthly cost of bail support schemes in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Maclean

The Home Office probation supervision grant scheme currently makes grants to 11 projects solely or mainly for bail support; other projects may include some bail support work.

The average monthly Home Office grant to these bail support projects in the financial year 1993–94 is £4,062. However, this may not fully reflect the cost of bail support projects as projects may well receive funding from other sources.