§ 5. Mr. SINKINSONasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of mental defectives under 18 years of age in Scotland; how many are educable and uneducable; and how many are in institutions, criminal and otherwise?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for SCOTLAND (Mr. Westwood)The duty imposed upon education authorities in Scotland by the Mental Deficiency and Lunacy (Scotland) Act, 1913, to ascertain what children residing within their areas are mentally defective within the meaning of the Act and to make provision for the education of those who are capable of receiving benefit from special instruction extends only to children between five and 16 years of age. According to the last return made by education authorities, the number of children between these ages who were ascertained by them to be mentally defective was 4,910, of whom 3,993 were ascertained to be educable, and 917 uneducable. The number of educable mentally defective children receiving instruction in schools and institutions is 3,938. Between the ages of five and 18 years there are 192 educable and 696 uneducable mental defectives certified under the Act and in residence in certified institutions, and 110 uneducable mental defectives under guardianship in private dwellings. There are no mental defectives under the age of 18 in residence in the State institution.