asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total estimated cost of community service order schemes in 1979–80.

Probation and after-care committees, which are responsible for administering community service schemes, do not account for expenditure on community service separately from that on the service as a whole. The booklet " Probation Service Statistics Based on Estimates " 1979–80, produced jointly by the Conference of Chief Probation Officers and the Society of County Treasurers, gives an estimated expenditure of £4·2 million on community service in England and Wales (excluding inner London).