§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the expenditure per capita on facilities for mentally handicapped children in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire for the latest period for which figures are available.
§ Dr. OwenI regret that information in the form requested is not available centrally. The average cost of maintaining a patient—adult or child—in a hospital for the mentally handicapped in the Wessex region was about £33 a week in 1973–74.
Information about local authority expenditure for mentally handicapped children can be separately identified for residential accommodation only. The estimated expendiure in 1974–75 for each child accommodated is about £1,700 in Dorset and £2,000 in Wiltshire. No separate costs are available for mentally handicapped children in Hampshire.