§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many places are now available for the mentally handicapped in special hospital or other accommodation; and what is the total cost to public funds of providing these places in the current financial year.
§ Dr. OwenAt 31st December 1974, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of beds available for mentally handicapped people in hospitals was 55,150.
On 31st March 1975 the number of residential places available to local authorities in homes and hostels either run by the local authorities themselves or by voluntary or private and other organisations was 10,946.
A provisional estimate of the running cost of the hospitals for the mentally handicapped in 1974–75 is £177 million.
In addition there are about 3,000 mentally handicapped pupils in residential special schools for whom separate cost figures are not available.