§ Mr. Hudson Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many children were in care in Wales in the years 1968 to 1979; how many there are in the current year as far as figures are available; and what were the rates of children in care per 1,000 of the population under the age of 18 years on the same figures.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsInformation for 1968 to 1979 is as follows:
Year Children in care at 31 March Rate per 1,000 population aged under 18* 1968 3,099 4.2 1969 3,008 4.1 1970 2,955 4.0 1971 3,709 4.9 1972 4,082 5.4 1973 4,347 5.7 1974 4,551 6.0 1975 4,901 6.4 1976 4,842 6.4 1977 4,924 6.5 1978 4,893 6.7 1979 5,000† 6.8 * Population at 30 June of the preceding year. † Provisional estimate Information for 1980 is not yet available.