asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the serious crime rate for children and young persons generally differs in the case of those in the care of local authorities.

The information available centrally does not indicate whether an offender was in the care of a local authority. The only readily available information relates to the total number of offenders found guilty of, or cautioned for, indictable offences per 100,000 population by age group over the period 1958–78, which is published in table 5.18 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1978"—Cmnd. 7670.