Concerns over community payback orders
CONCERNS a three-month waiting list is causing a delay in the number of community payback orders (CPO) being started has been raised by a Labour councillor.
Depute council leader and Leven councillor Michelle McGinty brought the issue on the CPOs designed to ensure that those who commit offences pay their dues to the communities that they have harmed to the attention of the health and social care partnership (HSCP) this week.
It comes as a report presented to members revealed that the number of people attending a community payback order induction session within five working days of their sentence had dropped from 82.6% between October and December 2022 to 71.4% in the same time frame.
Despite this, the number of people starting unpaid work within seven days of sentencing – which is often between 20 to 300 hours and has to be completed within a certain time frame rose from 18.8% between October and December 2022 to 57.1% the following year.
Councillor Michelle McGinty said: “The number of people attending a community payback order within five working days has gone down.
“I am just highlighting this because I always worry when our figures are going down it is because we are not getting finance support that goes along with it.
“The percentage of unpaid work commencing in seven days – I see that has gone up.
“I am aware that there is perhaps a three-month waiting list for people to even start on community payback orders so I just wonder what is going on with that.
“It looks as though it [unpaid work] has increased significantly but I have been told there is a three-month waiting list.”
An officer confirmed that they were looking at a 20% increase in the demand of the service overall.
The HSCP will continue to monitor these “sizeable” demands to deliver them.