§ Commander Courtneyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the other circumstances mentioned in Part I, Table I, of Command Paper No. 1876 in which 10,072 children out of a total of 47,471 in England and Wales were taken into care during the 12 months preceding 31st March, 1962.
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§ Mr. BrookeThe details are as follows:
Reasons for coming into care (described in main table as other circumstances) Number of children Tuberculosis contact 86 Child illegitimate (mother unable to provide) 1,804 Parent or guardian in prison or remanded in custody 666 Family homeless because of eviction 2,604 Family homeless through cause other than eviction 1,354 Unsatisfactory home conditions 1,149 Other reasons 2,304 Under Section 3 (4), Children Act 1948 37 Under Section 6 (4), Children Act, 1948 68 Total of other circumstances 10,072
§ Commander Courtneyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special conditions operate in London and Liverpool to produce figures of 12.1 and 4.6 respectively, being the number of children in care per 1,000 of population on 31st March, 1962, compared with a national average of 5.1.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Liverpool figure is not far from the national average. The information available to me does not point to any outstanding specific reason for the high proportion of children in the care of the London County Council. Various reasons have been suggested; these include the shifting population in the area, the number of unsettled families coming to London from other areas, shortage of accommodation and the probability that relatives and others able to look after children in need are less readily available in London.
§ Commander Courtneyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors operate in London to cause a sharp rise in the number of children taken into care during the months of June, July and August, with the corresponding fall at Christmas time; and whether this is general throughout England and Wales.
§ Mr. BrookeI understand from the London County Council that apart from some reduction, the reason for which is not clear, towards the end of the year, they have found no consistent seasonal76W trend in the numbers of children received into their care. Local authorities do not furnish me with regular returns of monthly admissions of children to their care, and I am not aware of any significant seasonal pattern over the country as a whole.