To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the efficiency savings that will be achieved by establishing the proposed National Offender Management Service.

The establishment of the National Offender Management Service will lead to efficiency savings through the better targeting of interventions and an increase in the number of completed orders. Substantial savings will also be made by combining HQ functions which in turn will contribute to the 20 per cent. overall reduction in Home Office HQ costs. In addition, over the spending review 2004 period we will continue a target of three per cent. efficiency savings across the services.