§ Mr. MarlandTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juvenile offenders were placed by local authorities last year in private residential homes or schools such as Bryn Melyn in Wales.
§ Mr. BowisI have been asked to reply.
Information available centrally about the number of children and young people accommodated compulsorily by local authorities relates to the legislation under which they are held and not to offences committed or alleged.
The most recently held information relates to the period 14 October 1991 to 31 March 1992 and is based on valid information received from 90 local authorities. It is estimated that, in England, between 40 and 50 children or young people who were subject to a care order in criminal proceedings and between 30 and 40 who were on remand were accommodated compulsorily by local authorities in private residential homes or schools in this period.