§ Mr. RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in descending order the number of children per 1,000 children who are on the child protection register in each standard planning region of the United Kingdom. [144174]
§ Mr. HuttonThe proportion of children per 1,000 children who are on the child protection register in each Government office region of the United Kingdom (in descending order) is as follows (figures correct as of March 31 2000):
Number of children on the Child Protection Register per 1,000 Region London 4.8 South East England 3.8 West Midlands 3.5 Yorkshire and Humberside 3.4 East Midlands 3.1 East England 2.8 North West England 2.7 South West England 2.4 Wales 2.4 Scotland 12.3 Northern Ireland 1.4 Merseyside 1.2 1As at 31 March 1999 Child protection registers are geared to the protection of the child and are primarily operational rather than statistical. The registers are not intended to be a list of all children who have been abused and who have come to official notice, but of those for whom there are currently unresolved child protection issues.
A child may be on the register of more than one authority at a time if the protection of the child merits it. This may occur, for example, where the child is looked after by one authority but placed with foster parents in another authority, or where the child's family has moved between authority areas on many occasions. These figures should therefore not be interpreted as a record of all child abuse.