§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities(a) have fulfilled their obligations to provide a register of disabled children and (b) are able to provide information on the numbers of disabled children on the child protection register. [11410]
§ Jacqui SmithWe do not keep a list of authorities which have a disabled children's register. However, this years' national overview report on the 2001–02 "quality protects" management action plans, reports that most councils currently have up-to-date registers of disabled children.
All local authorities should be able to provide information on the numbers of children on the child protection register although we do not hold it centrally. However, local authority returns from the children in need census, currently taking place, will mean this information will become available.