§ Ms Roseanna CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the additional costs likely to be incurred by social work departments in Scotland from implementation of the proposals for an increase in the number of hours for which community service orders are to be made contained in the White Paper "Crime and Punishment". [38754]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonCommunity service is 100 per cent. funded by central Government. No net increase in costs is anticipated following from the increases in minimum and maximum hours. Any increase in costs resulting from the increase in maximum hours under solemn procedure is estimated to be offset by a reduction in the number of short orders which are relatively more expensive to manage.