LordHenley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- 1. What is the average nightly figure for the number of children, subject to care orders made by-juvenile courts, who should be residing in community homes but have absconded;
- 2. How much time is spent on their recovery and what does this cost;
915 - 3. How many additional offences are committed while they are "on the run";
- 4. How many community homes have secure accommodation and how many use it.
§ Lord TrefgarneForty-eight currently approved community homes in England include secure units. I regret that information about their use, which is at the discretion of the local authorities concerned, and the other details requested, are not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The department publishes annuallyChildren in the Care of Local Authorities, comprised of statistics centrally collected on this subject. Copies are in the Library.