To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders under Probation Service supervision were categorised as Tier 4 in each of the last five financial years. (278618)

The total number of offenders in England and Wales who were categorised as Tier 4 as at 31 March in each of the last three years was as follows:

Information on tier prior to 1 April 2005 was not recorded.

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many years experience a probation officer is required to have before being assigned to a violent offender. (278664)

All probation officers undergo a two year training course before qualifying which equips them to deal with a wide range of offenders including those who commit violent offences. The local probation area holds responsibility for the allocation of a probation officer or probation service officer to an individual offender. The most serious offenders should be allocated to the most experienced and competent probation officers available.