§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cost of(a) introducing and (b) running the custody plus scheme. [84308]
§ Hilary Benn[holding answer 2 December 2002≤: The majority of the costs for implementing custody plus (both the costs of introducing the new sentence and of running it thereafter) fall on the Probation Service who need to build up capacity to manage an increased case load of approximately 50,000 per annum as a result of this new sentence. Current estimates are that an additional £19 million, £70 million, £136 million, £175 million, £186 million and £194 million for the financial years 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 respectively will be needed for the Probation Service to implement all the sentencing provisions in the Bill. Costs are expected to be in the order of £194 million annually thereafter.