§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the numbers of mentally handicapped children under 16 years in each of the past 10 years in England.
§ Mr. RossiThe total number of mentally handicapped children in England is not known, but it is estimated that the number of mentally handicapped people, including children, in need of special services is about three per thousand of the population. For a discussion of this estimate, I refer the hon. Member to chapter 3 of the 1980 review of mental handicap services in England "Mental Handicap: Progress, Problems and Priorities", which is in the Library of the House.