asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussions he has had with local authorities and voluntary organisations about joint funding for the care of children who have left mental hospitals.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: Local authorities and voluntary bodies, as well as health authorities, are well aware of the importance we attach to appropriate placements and support for mentally handicapped children, and to the scope for both central funding and joint finance. The policy is regularly emphasised, and specific projects are discussed with voluntary bodies. It is for district health authorities, together with local authorities and voluntary bodies, to discuss local projects and joint finance in the light of local priorities. We emphasise close collaboration in regional reviews. All proposals to use joint finance money must be recommended by the relevant joint consultative committee on which the health and local authorities and voluntary organisations are represented.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what percentage of cases children who are released from mental hospitals return to the parental or family home.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: This information is not available centrally. It is impossible to generalise. Children who are released from mental hospitals either return to their parental or family home, or are placed in other domestic settings.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to ensure that full and adequate community care is provided for children who are released from mental hospitals.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: We have helped to finance the move to community care by making over £11 million available under our children's initiative to help both health authorities and voluntary organisations fund schemes for moving children out of hospital; by joint finance allocations to health authorities of over £100 million in 1985–86 about a third of which can be expected to be spent on mental handicap services; and by enabling health authorities to transfer funds from their ordinary budgets for as long as necessary to local authorities or voluntary organisations for patients, including children, transferred from long-stay hospitals to be cared for in the community. In addition, the national development team for mentally handicapped people and the Department's own social services inspectorate are available to advise authorities on the provision of services, and the annual ministerial reviews of regional health authorities provide an opportunity for us to look at how effectively health authorities, jointly with local authorities, are planning the shift to community care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services under which health authorities the children who leave mental hospitals are reviewed for their health, social service and educational needs.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: It is for the health authority making the new arrangements, in co-operation with the relevant local authority, to satisfy itself that a child transferred from hospital is moved into an adequate and appropriate form of community care. All authorities are expected to undertake joint, multi-disciplinary assessments of the needs of mentally handicapped children moving into community care, the aim of which should be the formulation of a programme designed to meet the child's specific health, educational, social and other needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children have been admitted to mental hospitals in each of the last five years; and if he will name the hospitals and their locations.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: The available information is given in the two tables. The figures in table 1 include repeated admissions for short-term care or assessment. Both tables include some admissions to small NHS units in the community.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the numbers of children in each of the last five years who have ceased to be included in statistics as children in mental hospitals because they reached the age of 16 years.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: This information is not available centrally. Young

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the record for each regional health authority, in each of the past five years, of releasing children from mental hospitals.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: The table shows, for each region, the changes in the number of children resident in mental handicap hospitals and units at 31 December in the years 1980–1984. The figures include children admitted for short-term care or assessment.people aged 16 and over are also being moved out of hospital, either as part of the children's initiative or as part of the wider shift to community care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the change over the last five years in the number of children under the age of 16 years who are in mental hospitals.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: The available informatio00000n for England is given in the table. The figures include children in hospital for short-term care or assessment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what date he estimates that all children will be removed from long-stay mental handicap hospitals.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: It is not at this stage possible to make such an estimate. Health authorities are well aware of the need to

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under the age of 16 years are in mental hospitals with 25 or more beds; if he will name the hospitals and their locations; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 October 1985, c. 381]: There were 656 children under 16 years of age resident in NHS mental handicap hospitals and hospital units in England with 25 or more available beds at 31 December 1984. The hospitals and hospital units are listed in the table. The figures include children in hospital for short-term care or assessment. It is encouraging to note the success of the Government's children's initiative in reducing the number of mentally handicapped children in hospital and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that progress continues.