HL Deb 10 July 1985 vol 466 cc307-8WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many children in Northern Ireland have been admitted to care and how many discharged in each of the last five years; whether the figures increased or decreased compared with the previous five years; and what is the current annual cost of children in care.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)

The number of children in Northern Ireland admitted to and discharged from the care of the four Health and Social Services Boards in each of the last five years for which figures are available is as follows

Year ending 31st December 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983* Total*
Admissions 1,016 1,143 1,070 894 964 5,087
Discharges 879 920 945 928 967 4,639
*Provisional figure
In comparison with the previous five years, these figures show a slight decrease in the total number of admissions and a slight increase in the total number of discharges.

For the year ended 31st March 1984 (the most recent year for which information is available), the total identifiable cost to the Department of Health and Social Services of maintaining children in care is estimated to be approximately £9.3 million. This figure is made up of the running costs of residential homes and of payments to foster parents. It does not include the cost of non-residential social work staff time devoted to children in care and their families, and, in the case of voluntary homes, does not take account of costs met from voluntary funds.