§ Mr. Stallardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under 16 years are in long-stay sub-normality hospitals in each regional health authority in England and Wales.
§ Mr. RossiThe numbers of children under 16 years resident in mental handicap hospitals and units on 31 December 1980, which is the latest date for which provisional figures are available, are as follows:
Regional Health Authority Children resident England Northern 180 Yorkshire 181 Trent 243 East Anglian 91 North West Thames 137 North East Thames 132 South East Thames 180 South West Thames 228 Wessex 236 Oxford 164 South Western 188 West Midlands 213 Mersey 124 North Western 124 Wales 101 Mental handicap hospitals are not classified by length of stay of patients and so the information provided relates to all mental handicap hospitals, and includes short-term periods of admission for social reasons.
§ Mr. Stallardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under the age of 16 years left long-stay sub-normality hospitals in the past 12 months for accommodation within the community.
§ Mr. RossiI regret that this information is not available. The available statistics of children discharged from mental handicap hospitals do not distinguish those who left for accommodation in the community from, for example, those who returned to their parents' home—in some cases after a short stay in hospital for social reasons.
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§ Mr. Stallardasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under the age of 16 years were admitted to long-stay sub-normality hospitals in each regional health authority in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. RossiThe numbers of children under the age of 16 who were admitted to mental handicap hospitals and units during the year ending 31 December 1980, which is the latest year for which provisional figures are available, are as follows:
Regional Health Authority Children admitted Northern 927 Yorkshire 431 Trent 1,219 East Anglian 554 North West Thames 245 North East Thames 331 South East Thames 666 South West Thames 236 Wessex 661 Oxford 697 South Western 698 West Midlands 1.019 Mersey 151 North Western 362 Mental handicap hospitals are not classified by length of stay of patients and so the information provided relates to all mental handicap hospitals and includes a considerable number of short-term periods of admission for social reasons.