§ 39. Miss Lestorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children are currently in the care of local authorities because their parents are unable to provide a home for them.
§ Mr. CarlisleThe available information is that out of 51,542 children who came into the care of local authorities in England and Wales during the year ended 31st March, 1970, 2,693 did so because their families were homeless.
§ 50. Miss Lestorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priority her Department gives to the protection of children placed in children's homes under Section 1 of the 1948 Act for whom the local authority has not
432Wof offenders in the community. The Advisory Council for Probation and After-Care is urgently considering how best to provide 200 additional training places, mostly for mature students, and to stimulate recruitment to them.
Following are the figures:
assumed parental rights under Section 2, in order to reduce the risk of their being removed to unsatisfactory homes.
§ Mr. CarlisleThis is a matter for local authorities, who are under a duty to exercise their powers so as to further the best interests of any child in their care. If the hon. Member has in mind the provisional proposals of the Departmental Committee on the Adoption of Children for extending these powers, I would refer her to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to Questions by the hon. Members for Glasgow, Gorbals (Mr. McElhone) for Accrington (Mr. Arthur Davidson), and for Blyth (Mr. Milne) on 29th October.—[Vol. 805, c.168.]