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Probation Service for England and Wales

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 15 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average caseload of probation staff was in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and what estimate he has made of the average caseload in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10. (246600)

NOMS does not produce statistics on the average case load of probation staff. However, data are collected on the number of offenders supervised by the probation service and, separately, on the number of staff in post.

The total number of offenders supervised by the probation service on 31 March 2007 was 237,796. On 31 December 2007 it was 242,722.

This information is taken from the Probation Statistics Quarterly Brief, which can be found at the following website:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/probationquarterly.htm

No projections of case load are available. However, projections for the number of order and licence starts have been made. These are set out as follows:

Projected community demand (starts) 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11

Community order and suspended sentence order

Licence supervision

2008-09

197,500

46,200

2009-10

203,400

47,600

2010-11

209,500

49,000

The number of probation service staff in post for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are set out as follows. Data for the quarter ending 31 March 2008 are not yet available as they are still being validated. No projections of staff in post are available.

Probation service staff in post: 2006-08

Q1

Q2

Q3

2007-081

30 June 2007

30 September 2007

31 December 2007

Probation officers2

8,038.95

7,973.80

8,257.54

Probation services officers3

6,280.56

6,304.56

6,221.76

Other staff

6,549.83

6,388.08

6,415.04

Total

20,869.34

20,666.44

20,894.34

Q1Q2Q3Q4

2006-071

30 June 2006

30 September 2006

31 December 2006

31 March 2007

Probation officers

8,083.97

8,064.97

8,343.64

8,265.35

Probation services officers

6,645.30

6,552.00

6,502.71

6,506.78

Other staff

6,309.82

6,531.73

6,524.63

6,473.53

Total

21,039.09

21,148.70

21,370.98

21,245.66

1 Figures provided are full-time equivalent. Figures for Quarter 3 2007-08 have yet to be published and may be subject to minor amendment upon publication. Figures for Quarter 4 2007-08 are unavailable as they currently being validated.

2 Includes senior practitioners, probation officers, practice development assessors, trainee probation officers and senior probation officers.

3 Includes probation services officers and treatment managers.