§ Mr. Alexander Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children were in care of each local authority in Scotland for each of the last five years; what was the cost to each local authority per child over each of the last five years; and how much money is provided for this service from central Government funds.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellInformation about the number of children in care of each local authority in Scotland, and the cost to each authority per child per week, is published in the Rating Review of the Scottish Branch of the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants, and I am arranging for copies of this publication for the last five years to be placed in the Library. There is no specific grant from Government funds for child care, but estimated expenditure on social work services is taken into account in determining the amount of Rate Support Grant towards local authority expenditure in general; figures of grant and expenditure are contained in my report on the Rate Support Grant (Scotland) Order, 1971 (H.C. 239).