§ Mr. Campbellasked the Secretary of State for the Social Services if he will state the numbers of children in care in England and Wales for the years 1966, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978 and the current year; and if he will also state the rates of children in care per 1,000 of the population for the same years.
§ Sir George YoungThe information is as follows:
Year Number of children in care children in care on 31 March (Thousands) Number of per 1,000 of the estimated population under age 18 1966 … 69.2 5.3 1967 … 69.4 5.3 1968 … 69.4 5.2 1977 … 101.2 7.4 1978 … 100.7 7.4 I regret that figures for 1979 are not yet available.
The figures for 1966–68 are not directly comparable with those for 1977 and 1978 because of changes in the legislation introduced in the intervening years.