§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected gross increase in the National Probation Service budget is for the next financial year; how much of that increase will be spent on(a) National Directorate administration and programmes, (b) probation officer training, (c) hostels revenue grant and (d) probation board revenue resource allocation; and how much of the Probation Board allocation will be spent on (i) property and estate charges and (ii) national information technology increases. [84303]
§ Hilary Benn[holding answer 2 December 2002]: The National Probation Service budget for the next financial year is expected to rise from £675.8 million to £746 million, an increase of just over £70 million. This is analysed as follows:
£ million 2002–03 2003–04 Change (a) National Probation Directorate (NPD) Admin and Programmes 52.8 50.7 -2.1 (b) Probation Officer Training 42.0 53.0 11.0 (c) Hostels Revenue Grant 42.7 49.0 6.3 (d) General Revenue Allocation 520.0 575.0 55.0 (e) Estate and Hostels 18.3 18.3 0.0 Total 675.8 746.0 70.2 It is estimated that the property and estate charges (excluding approved premises) will be about £62 million in 2003–04. The Home Office does not have precise information from probation boards about expenditure on property and estate charges in 2002–03. It is estimated that the costs in 2002–03 are about £52 million. The total budget of £62 million represents about 10 per cent, of the combined expenditure on the main service including training.
It is estimated that the information technology costs will increase from £16 million to £21 million. Most of this increase is required to provide a superior network. The total budget of £21 million for boards represents 3.1 per cent, of the combined board expenditure on main service activities, hostels and training.