Young People in Care (Hansard, 18 December 1997)

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people in each of the last three years have been remanded in the care of the local authority by courts. [20691]

§ Mr. Boateng
I have been asked to reply.
During the year ending 31 March 1996, the latest for which figures are available, 1,600 young people were remanded, or committed for trial or sentence, into the care of local authorities in England. The equivalent figures for the years ending 31 March 1995 and 1994 were 1,530 and 1,440 respectively.
257W

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many young people presently remanded in the care of the local authority are(a) excluded from school and (b) not excluded from school; [20690]
(2) what is the average number of hours per week of education undertaken by young people who are remanded in the care of the local authority who are (a) excluded from school and (b) not excluded from school. [20688]

§ Mr. Michael
Information on the education of those remanded in the care of the local authority is not collected centrally but I have obtained some related information from the Department for Education and Employment and the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).
Surveys indicate that children in local authority care are more likely to be excluded from school than other groups, but there is no information on how many exclusions involve those remanded into care.

School attendance at each Key Stage

Per cent.

Key Stage 1 (4–7 years) Key Stage 2 (7–11 years) Key Stage 3 (11–14 years) Key Stage 4 (14–16 years) Total

Permanently excluded¹ — 0.6 2.1 3.9 1.9

Fixed term exclusion^1,2 — 0.3 3.0 2.8 1.7

attendance 2.1 1.6 7.3 18.9 8.4

problem indicated 87.1 92.5 82.4 66.9 81.2

information given 10.8 5.0 5.2 7.5 6.7

Total numbers 194 322 329 360 1,205

¹ Numbers relate to children excluded at the time of the census. Information was not collected about previous experience of exclusion.

² When this study was undertaken, fixed term exclusion applied for a maximum of 15 days in any one term. Since legislative changes introduced in 1997 fixed term exclusion can now extend to 45 days in any one year.

School attendance at each Key Stage
Per cent.
	Key Stage 1 (4–7 years)	Key Stage 2 (7–11 years)	Key Stage 3 (11–14 years)	Key Stage 4 (14–16 years)	Total
Permanently excluded¹	—	0.6	2.1	3.9	1.9
Fixed term exclusion^1,2	—	0.3	3.0	2.8	1.7
attendance	2.1	1.6	7.3	18.9	8.4
problem indicated	87.1	92.5	82.4	66.9	81.2
information given	10.8	5.0	5.2	7.5	6.7
Total numbers	194	322	329	360	1,205
¹ Numbers relate to children excluded at the time of the census. Information was not collected about previous experience of exclusion.
² When this study was undertaken, fixed term exclusion applied for a maximum of 15 days in any one term. Since legislative changes introduced in 1997 fixed term exclusion can now extend to 45 days in any one year.