§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Children Bill will be implemented in Scotland; and what additional funds in connection with the Bill will be given to local authorities in Scotland as soon as it is implemented.
§ Mr. Frank McElhoneThe provisions of the Children Act 1975 will be progressively implemented in accordance with the availability of resources. Some provisions have already been introduced and consultations are proceeding on others for implementation in the 1976–77 financial year; these are unlikely to make any significant demands on local authority expenditure. The White Paper "Public Expenditure to 1979–80"—Cmnd. 6393—indicated that the current expenditure programme for that period included provisions for a start to be made to carrying out the Children Act 1975.