§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, by local authority, the funds currently allocated by his Department to fund local authority services for children who are at risk. [3978]
§ Mr. BurnsThe total provision made for English local authorities in respect of children's services (including services for children at risk) amounts in the current financial year to £1,754.7 million. This provision, however, is not hypothecated and it is for individual local authorities to determine their own spending priorities in the light of local needs. In addition, grants totalling £9.3 million are also available to local authorities in 1996–97 for services provided by guardians ad litem and for services provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.