Probation Officers Mr. Garnier To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation officers in each probation service area have been qualified for more than three years. Maria Eagle It is not possible to say how long each probation officer has been qualified as this information is not collected centrally and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Mr. Garnier To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average offender caseload a probation officer supervises; and what is the maximum number of offenders an officer may supervise. Maria Eagle Figures for 31 December 2008 show that the average caseload per probation officer across the 42 probation areas in England and Wales ranged from 18 to 54 cases. There is no specified maximum number of offenders that an officer may supervise. Ms Keeble To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the number of probation officers there are per head of population in each probation service area. Maria Eagle The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only by contacting each probation area at a disproportionate cost. Ms Keeble To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the ratio of probation officers to offenders was in each probation service area on the latest date for which figures are available. Maria Eagle The following table shows the ratio of offenders to probation officers1 in each probation area on 30 September 2008; the last date for which corresponding staffing and offender information is currently available. 1 Includes: Senior Probation Officers, Senior Practitioners, Probation Officers, Trainee Probation Officers, Practice Development Assessors, Probation Service Officers and Treatment Managers. ----------------------------------- |Probation area/trust |Ratio | ----------------------------------- |Avon and Somerset |14.7:1| ----------------------------------- |Bedfordshire |17.6:1| ----------------------------------- |Cambridgeshire |18.0:1| ----------------------------------- |Cheshire |15.5:1| ----------------------------------- |Cumbria |19.6:1| ----------------------------------- |Derbyshire |14.5:1| ----------------------------------- |Devon and Cornwall |21.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Dorset |13.4:1| ----------------------------------- |County Durham |13.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Essex |19.8:1| ----------------------------------- |Gloucestershire |20.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Greater Manchester |20.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Hampshire |16.5:1| ----------------------------------- |Hertfordshire |18.5:1| ----------------------------------- |Humberside |14.2:1| ----------------------------------- |Kent |19.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Lancashire |20.4:1| ----------------------------------- |Leicestershire and Rutland|10.5:1| ----------------------------------- |Lincolnshire |13.1:1| ----------------------------------- |London |22.0:1| ----------------------------------- |Merseyside |19.0:1| ----------------------------------- |Norfolk |10.6:1| ----------------------------------- |Northumbria |15.1:1| ----------------------------------- |Northamptonshire |17.1:1| ----------------------------------- |Nottinghamshire |17.8:1| ----------------------------------- |Staffordshire |16.7:1| ----------------------------------- |Suffolk |12.3:1| ----------------------------------- |Surrey |11.0:1| ----------------------------------- |Sussex |19.0:1| ----------------------------------- |Teesside |16.2:1| ----------------------------------- |Thames Valley |14.1:1| ----------------------------------- |Warwickshire |17.0:1| ----------------------------------- |West Mercia |15.1:1| ----------------------------------- |West Midlands |20.8:1| ----------------------------------- |Wiltshire |15.0:1| ----------------------------------- |North Yorkshire |13.6:1| ----------------------------------- |South Yorkshire |15.0:1| ----------------------------------- |West Yorkshire |16.6:1| ----------------------------------- |Dyfed Powys |13.1:1| ----------------------------------- |Gwent |16.8:1| ----------------------------------- |North Wales |20.8:1| ----------------------------------- |South Wales |17.0:1| ----------------------------------- The ratio nationally of offenders to probation officers is 17.5:1.