§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the reduction in the budget in 1997–98 for the probation service in Mid Glamorgan; and what estimate he has received from the service of reductions in the number of probation officers directly serving clients. [13933]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe specific grant cash limit for the Mid Glamorgan probation service in 1997–98 is £2.8 million, 2.1 per cent. lower than for 1996–97. Part604W of this reduction is due to a transfer of responsibilities and resources from Mid Glamorgan to Gwent as a consequence of local authority boundary changes.
It is for the Mid Glamorgan probation committee to decide how these resources will be best used and to determine what specific changes within the service, including staff numbers and deployment, should be undertaken within the total level of expenditure implied by this level of grant support. The committee has not yet provided information about its staffing plans for 1997–98.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the effect on the Mid Glamorgan probation service of the alteration of that service's boundaries; and what transitional budget provision has been made for the service. [13952]
§ Mr. SackvilleResponsibility for the Rhymney Valley, which was transferred from the Mid Glamorgan probation area to the Gwent probation area on 1 April 1996, accounted for an estimated 19.1 per cent. of the Mid Glamorgan probation service's expenditure. As a transitional arrangement, 16.6 per cent. of the Mid Glamorgan allocation—as it would have been before the boundary changes—was transferred through the cash limits formula to Gwent in 1996–97 and 17.9 per cent. will be transferred in 1997–98. The full 19.1 per cent. will be transferred from 1998–99.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the number of prison visits by Mid Glamorgan probation officers made to advise prisoners before their release in 1996–97; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed reduction in the budget for 1997–98 upon prison visiting by Mid Glamorgan probation officers; [13931]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of pre-sentence reports prepared by the Mid Glamorgan probation service in 1996–97 and what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed reduction in staff in that service on providing pre-sentence reports in 1997–98. [13932]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Home Office does not estimate at this level of detail. It is for the Mid Glamorgan probation committee to use the resources available to it to meet its responsibilities, including the need for compliance with national standards for the preparation of pre-sentence reports and the pre-release and post-release supervision of offenders.