Written question asked by Richard Ottaway (Conservative) on Monday, 8 July 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 July 2002. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Monday, 22 July 2002 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is towards the requirement for preparation of pre-sentence reports by the London Probation Service; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is towards the requirement for preparation of pre-sentence reports by the London Probation Service; and if he will make a statement. [68878] Hilary Benn: The courts have a statutory duty and right to commission pre-sentence reports where they think it appropriate to do so and the area Probation Service has a statutory duty to provide them. A pre-sentence report may take the shorter form of a Specific Sentence Report where there is reason to believe that the offender presents a lower risk or the court has a specific sentence in mind. National Standards for the supervision of offenders in the community 2000 require pre-sentence reports to be prepared within a maximum of 15 working days of the court's request. This applies in London as elsewhere in England and Wales.

Secondary information