asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what extra expenditure is to be provided to help local authority social service departments to help deal with juvenile delinquency and vandalism.

The tentative provision for personal social services in the Government's expenditure plans 1980–81, Cmnd. 7746, is not earmarked for particular purposes. However, local authorities have been asked to give priority as far as possible to those services for children which are concerned with the prevention and treatment of delinquency. In the Government's view, expenditure on intermediate treatment for young offenders should not undergo any reduction.