§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if she will list in the Official Report those local authorities which have sanctioned the use of corporal punishment in their community homes and those which have not so sanctioned it;
(2) if she will now make arrangements through the local authorities to collect statistics about the incidence of corporal punishment in community homes.
§ Dr. OwenAs I told my hon. Friend on 3rd December 1974—[Vol. 882, c.416–7.]—information on those local authorities which have sanctioned the use of corporal punishment in community homes and those which have not is not kept centrally. In the absence of any evidence that authorities are misusing their power to permit the use of corporal punishment in their community home, I do not think I would be justified in requiring them to provide me with this information or statistics about the incidence of coporal punishment.