Justice Week 8-12 December 2008

May 07, 2009

More parliamentary activity on the cuts

5th May (Ministry of Justice Question Time) saw Ministers fielding more questions from MPs about Probation cuts in their area.

This time it was Jack Straw who faced a question from David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon in Northumbria. What, the MP asked, would the Secretary of State "advise me to tell the people who work in the probation service in the north-east? How are they supposed to improve reoffending rates if, because of deficit cuts, they lose £1.6 million this year and £4.2 million in 2012, and do not employ the 24 trainee probation officers who have been trained over the last three years, at a cost of £2.5 million to the public purse? Surely that cannot be correct?"

Jack Straw's response, as well as repeating the Ministerial mantra about the "70% incease in Probation funding over the last 12 years", was to offer a meeting. "My colleagues and I are always happy to see my hon. Friend—and, if necessary, a delegation from Northumbria probation service—about their concerns", he said. We will keep members posted on the outcome of the offer.

Posted by kfalcon at May 7, 2009 04:28 PM