§ 20. Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future of the Probation Service. [64369]
§ Mr. George Howarth"Joining Forces to Protect the Public" was published on 6 August 1998, and sought views on our plans for modernising the probation services in England and Wales. Also relevant are our proposals set out in the consultation paper, "Support Services in Family Proceedings—Future Organisation of Court Welfare Services", which was published on 30 July. We are now carefully considering the replies received, and expect to announce decisions about the future organisation of these services soon.