§ Baroness Anelay of St Johnsasked Her Majesty's Government:
What will be the cost of implementing and running the custody plus scheme; and what sums have been set aside in the Home Office budget to ensure that custody plus can be fully implemented following the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill. [HL764]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe majority of the costs of implementing custody plus (both the costs of introducing the new sentence and of running it thereafter) fall on the Probation Service, which needs to build up capacity to manage an increased caseload 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 provisons in the Bill. Costs are expected to be in the order of £194 million annually thereafter. We are committed to delivering these reforms and the costs of implementation will he met from within departmental settlements, although final decisions regarding phasing to prove for effective delivery have not been made. Implementation planning is being taken forward within the Correctional Services Review.