§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what advice will be given to the probation service on efficiency savings following the 1994 Budget statement and current probation caseload;
(2) what efficiency savings he expects will be made by the probation service in England and Wales during the financial year 1995–96.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe Government have already made clear to the probation service their expectation that improvements in efficiency across the full range of operational and support services will be vigorously pursued. It will be for individual probation committees to judge what specific steps should be taken in the light of local circumstances; but among the efficiencies to which the Government expect committees to give particular attention are the use of accommodation, information systems, inter-area collaboration and quality control.