§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average amount of time children remained in care in each year since 1963.
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total cost of keeping a child in care per week, for each year since 1963.
§ Dr. Owen:The average cost per week to local authorities for each of the finan- 271W cial years 1963–64 to 1971–72 was as follows:
1963–64 … … … £7.45 1964–65 … … … £7.89 1965–66 … … … £9.03 1966–67 … … … £9.99 1967–68 … … … £11.20 1968–69 … … … £12.55 1969–70 … … … £13.96 1970–71 … … … £15.73 1971–72 … … … £18.57 It is not possible to produce comparable figures for 1972–73 and 1973–74 because the costs of administration and field work by social workers cannot be apportioned to individual services after 1st April 1972. Excluding these items these costs are estimated to be as follows:
1972–73 … … … £15.50 1973–74 … … … £18.50
§ Mr. Kinnockasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children have been taken into care for each year since 1963; and if these numbers could be broken down by each local authority.
§ Dr. Owen:This information is being collected and tabulated and I will write to my hon. Friend when it is ready.