§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate (a) the current number of children in care, (b) the percentage of parents who makes a contribution to their child's support even though the child is in care and (c) the average size of such payments.
§ Sir George YoungIt is estimated that approximately 95,000 children are currently in care in England. In the financial year 1977–78 local authorities in England collected parental contributions of £2.2 million towards the cost of maintaining children in care, but information about the number of parents contributing is not available centrally.