§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide figures for the number of children in Wales(a) in care, (b) in psychiatric units and (c) in residential schools for non-attendance at school; and if he will give the overall costs and costs per week per child.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThere were 3,481 children in care on 31 March 1987. The number of resident patients aged under 16, in mental illness hospitals and units, as at 5 April 1987, was 38. Information on expenditure in respect of children in mental illness hospitals and units is not 757W available centrally. Information is not collected centrally on residential schools for non-attendance at school. However, it is estimated that 84 children were in care under a care order for non-attendance at school. It is not known how many of these children were in residential schools. The provisional 1986–87 current expenditure by local authorities on children in care was £15.7 million and the average cost per child per week was £110.