§ Sir Brian MawhinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each appropriate English local authority the most recently available average amount which is spent per annum per child on children held in secure accommodation, together with the number of such secure placements in the most recent period for which figures are available. [160336]
§ Mr. HuttonAt 31 March 2000 there were 436 approved places in local authority secure accommodation. Information on numbers of children admitted to secure units and numbers of days that each child spends in secure units is not available. Information on numbers of children accommodated on 31 March is available but because the numbers are so small, and because of the likely variations in numbers in secure units on each day of the year, this would not produce reliable calculations of average spend per annum per child.