HC Deb 23 July 1993 vol 229 cc472-4W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number and percentages of children under the age of 18 years who were looked after by local authorities in March 1991 and March 1992 in Wales under the care of(a) foster placements, (b) community homes, (c) registered voluntary and private homes, (d) under placement with parent registration and (e) in other accommodation.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1992 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:

Accommodation Number of children Percentage of total
Foster placements 1,950 61.4
Community homes 528 16.6
Registered voluntary and private homes 18 0.6
Under charge of parent 434 13.7
Other accommodation 247 7.8
Total of all children 3,177 100.0

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has on the numbers of children looked after in March 1992 and in care in March 1991 in Wales; and if he will indicate(a) total numbers, (b) those granted care orders, (c) those given section 20 voluntary arrangements, (d) single placements, (e) those given Section 20 under private care arrangements, (f) those on remand or in detention and (g) any other categorisation.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1992 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:

Legal Status Number of children in care
On remand, committed or detained 26
Subject to interim care order 106
Section 2 Child Care Act 1980 (voluntary care) 1,246
Under care orders 1,799
Total all children 3,177

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number of cases of young people under the age of 17 years running away from residential care homes in Wales, by local authority area.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The available information on children and young people running away from residential care relates to children who have absconded for more than one week on the date that the statistics are collected. The latest available information relates to 31 March 1991 and is shown in the following table.

Aged 16 to 17 years1
Local Authority Boys Girls Total
Clwyd
Dyfed
Gwent 1 1
Gwynedd
Mid Glamorgan 1 1
Powys
South Glamorgan 4 2 6
West Glamorgan
Wales 5 3 8
1 There were no children aged under 16 years who had absconded for more than one week.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing the rate per 1,000 population under the age of 18 years who were removed to a place of safety in each local authority area in Wales in 1987, 1989 and 1991.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Number of Children removed to a place of safety Rate per 1,000 population aged under 18 years
1987 1989 1991 1987 1989 1991
Clwyd 54 43 43 0.6 0.5 0.5
Dyfed 40 20 95 0.5 0.3 1.2
Gwent 18 27 31 0.2 0.3 0.3
Gwynedd 19 31 10 0.3 0.6 0.2
Mid Glamorgan 61 35 36 0.5 0.3 0.3
Powys 26 5 9 1.0 0.2 0.4
South Glamorgan 79 64 49 0.8 0.7 0.5
West Glamorgan 48 13 27 0.6 0.2 0.3
Wales 345 238 300 0.5 0.4 0.5

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing the number of children moved to a place of safety who were(a) aged under five years, (b) aged five to nine years, (c) aged 10 to 15 years and (d) aged 16 years and over at the time the orders were made in Wales in each year since 1989.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

The latest available information on the number of children in Wales removed to a place of safety is shown in the following table:

Age 1989 1990 1991
Under five years 115 144 160
Five to 15 years 111 160 132
16 plus years 12 9 8
Total all Children 238 313 300

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in Wales were(a) in care in March

Additions to the register1 Numbers on the register
Category of registration 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 31 March 1991 31 March 1992
Neglect 80 165 230 270
Physical abuse 270 353 468 481
Sexual abuse 93 203 148 237

1991 and (b) looked after in March 1992 indicating the numbers aged (i) under five, (ii) five and under 10, (iii) 10 and under 16, (iv) 16 and 17 and (v) over 17 years.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1991 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:

Aged Number
Under 5 years 549
5–9 years 691
10–15 years 1,303
16–17 years 625
Over 17 years 9
Total 3,177