Dr. Desmond TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of child abuse(a) allegations and (b) convictions there were in the five years (i) before and (ii) after the changes in court procedures following the implementation of the Children Act 1989. [127548]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Children Act 1989 was implemented in October 1991. However, although the Children Act 1989 changed the private and public functions of the civil law relating to the welfare of children, it did not change the criminal law in respect of offences against children.
In terms of allegations of child abuse, no statistics are available on the number of referrals to social services departments for the five-year period (1986–87 to 1990–91), prior to the implementation of the Act. However, "Child Protection: Messages from Research" (Department of Health, 1995) indicates that there are about 160,000 cases referred to social services departments per annum.
Statistics relating to convictions for offences against children, as set out in Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, are shown in the table.
364WThe number of persons convicted at all courts under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (Section 1), England and Wales, 1987–1996, is as follows:
Offence: Cruelty or neglect of children Year Number 1987 143 1988 164 1989 211 1990 247 1991 234 1992 208 1993 205 1994 236 1995 302 1996 293