HC Deb 01 April 1980 vol 982 c138W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many teenagers left the care of local authorities on attaining 18 years of age in 1979; and how this compares with the figures for each of the previous five years.

Sir George Young

The numbers of teenagers who left local authority care in England and Wales on reaching the maximum age (18 or 19 as appropriate) during the five years ending 31 March 1974 to 1978 were, to the nearest one hundred, as follows:

1974 7,100
1975 7,500
1976 8,300
1977 8,100
1978 8,400

Figures for 1979 are not yet available.