Child Care Officers

HC Deb 20 December 1966 vol 738 cc278-9W

Mr. MacArthur

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many qualified child care officers are employed in the Inspectorate of the Child Care Service by the Scottish Education Department.

Mr. Ross

If the hon. Member has in mind the Letter of Recognition of the Central Training Council in Child Care, none of the staff of the child care and probation inspectorate has this qualification. The staff have other qualifications and wide experience relevant to child care.

Mr. MacArthur

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many qualified child care officers, per thousand of the population aged under 18 years, are employed by local authorities in Scotland.

Mr. Ross

At 1st April, 1966, there were 152 child care officers employed by local authorities in Scotland. Of these, 23 possessed the Letter of Recognition awarded by the Central Training Council in Child Care. This represented 1.4 per 100,000 of the population aged under 18 years. In addition, a further 71 possessed other relevant qualifications (e.g., a University degree, diploma or certificate in social studies or the Declaration of Recognition of Experience awarded by the Scottish Advisory Council on Child Care). If these are included, the figure becomes 5.9 per 100,000.