§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases have come before junior panels in Scotland in each year since their inception.
§ Mr. McElhoneThe number of reports referred to children's hearings each year since 1971 is as follows:
1971 (part) 6,712 1972 12,519 1973 15,079 1974 15,377 1975 (a) 14,001 1976 (b) 14,523 1977 Not yet available (a) Because of difficulties which arose at the time of local authority reorganisation the 1975 figure is based on incomplete returns. (b) The 1976 figure is provisional.