§ Mr. RogersTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of taking a child into local authority care. [8352]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansThe costs of taking a child into care will include a number of elements, not all of which are necessarily classified in the same way by different local authorities. The average costs for placements may be estimated by taking expenditure throughout the year reported by local authorities and dividing by the average number of children looked after in these placements at the start and end of the year. The latest available average costs calculated on this basis are £6,500 for foster placements and £19,800 for residential and other community placements.