§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average annual cost of keeping a child in local authority care, at 1993 prices, for each of the last 10 years for which information is available.
§ Mr. BowisInformation is available centrally on a consistent basis for the years 1983–84 to 1991–92 and is shown in the table. These figures exclude cases where care is provided at little or no cost to local authorities—for example, placed with parents—or where local authority costs did not relate solely to children in care.
Average annual net cost of keeping a child in care/looked after, at 1993 prices1 Year Cost (£) 1983–84 9,520 1984–85 9,636 1985–86 9,726 1986–87 10,233 1987–88 10,645 1988–89 11,182 1989–90 11,475 1990–91 12,044 1991–92 12,889 1 Using the Gross Domestic Product deflator.