§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation officers are serving in Middlesex; what his Department's target complement is; and how many served in Middlesex in each of the past five years. [155935]
§ Mr. Boateng[holding answer 27 March 2001]: The available information is as follows:
Middlesex probation officers in post 31 December Number of persons1 1995 278 1996 263 1997 260 1998 260 1999 262 2000 254 1Whole-time equivalent Middlesex will become part of the area of the new London Local Probation Board on 1 April, and that body will determine its staffing needs. Across England and Wales it is planned to recruit over 1,000 trainee probation officers in the next 12 months.