To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number and percentages of children under the age of 18 years who were looked after by local authorities in March 1991 and March 1992 in Wales under the care of (a) foster placements, (b) community homes, (c) registered voluntary and private homes, (d) under placement with parent registration and (e) in other accommodation.
Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1992 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:
| Accommodation | Number of children | Percentage of total |
| Foster placements | 1,950 | 61·4 |
| Community homes | 528 | 16·6 |
| Registered voluntary and private homes | 18 | 0·6 |
| Under charge of parent | 434 | 13·7 |
| Other accommodation | 247 | 7·8 |
| Total of all children | 3,177 | 100·0 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has on the numbers of children looked after in March 1992 and in care in March 1991 in Wales; and if he will indicate (a) total numbers, (b) those granted care orders, (c) those given section 20 voluntary arrangements, (d) single placements, (e) those given Section 20 under private care arrangements, (f) those on remand or in detention and (g) any other categorisation.
Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1992 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:
| Legal Status | Number of children in care |
| On remand, committed or detained | 26 |
| Subject to interim care order | 106 |
| Section 2 Child Care Act 1980 (voluntary care) | 1,246 |
| Under care orders | 1,799 |
| Total all children | 3,177 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number of cases of young people under the age of 17 years running away from residential care homes in Wales, by local authority area.
The available information on children and young people running away from residential care relates to children who have absconded for more than one week on the date that the statistics are collected. The latest available information relates to 31 March 1991 and is shown in the following table.
| Aged 16 to 17 years1 | |||
| Local Authority | Boys | Girls | Total |
| Clwyd | — | — | — |
| Dyfed | — | — | — |
| Gwent | 1 | — | 1 |
| Gwynedd | — | — | — |
| Mid Glamorgan | — | 1 | 1 |
| Powys | — | — | — |
| South Glamorgan | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| West Glamorgan | — | — | — |
| Wales | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 1 There were no children aged under 16 years who had absconded for more than one week. | |||
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing the rate per 1,000 population under the age of 18 years who were removed to a place of safety in each local authority area in Wales in 1987, 1989 and 1991.
The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Number of Children removed to a place of safety | Rate per 1,000 population aged under 18 years | |||||
| 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | |
| Clwyd | 54 | 43 | 43 | 0·6 | 0·5 | 0·5 |
| Dyfed | 40 | 20 | 95 | 0·5 | 0·3 | 1·2 |
| Gwent | 18 | 27 | 31 | 0·2 | 0·3 | 0·3 |
| Gwynedd | 19 | 31 | 10 | 0·3 | 0·6 | 0·2 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 61 | 35 | 36 | 0·5 | 0·3 | 0·3 |
| Powys | 26 | 5 | 9 | 1·0 | 0·2 | 0·4 |
| South Glamorgan | 79 | 64 | 49 | 0·8 | 0·7 | 0·5 |
| West Glamorgan | 48 | 13 | 27 | 0·6 | 0·2 | 0·3 |
| Wales | 345 | 238 | 300 | 0·5 | 0·4 | 0·5 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing the number of children moved to a place of safety who were (a) aged under five years, (b) aged five to nine years, (c) aged 10 to 15 years and (d) aged 16 years and over at the time the orders were made in Wales in each year since 1989.
The latest available information on the number of children in Wales removed to a place of safety is shown in the following table:
| Age | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 |
| Under five years | 115 | 144 | 160 |
| Five to 15 years | 111 | 160 | 132 |
| 16 plus years | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Total all Children | 238 | 313 | 300 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in Wales were (a) in care in March
| Additions to the register1 | Numbers on the register | |||
| Category of registration | 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 | 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 | 31 March 1991 | 31 March 1992 |
| Neglect | 80 | 165 | 230 | 270 |
| Physical abuse | 270 | 353 | 468 | 481 |
| Sexual abuse | 93 | 203 | 148 | 237 |
1991 and (b) looked after in March 1992 indicating the numbers aged (i) under five, (ii) five and under 10, (iii) 10 and under 16, (iv) 16 and 17 and (v) over 17 years.
Information on the number of children in Wales looked after by local authorities at 31 March 1991 is not yet available. The available information for children in care at 31 March 1991 is given in the following table:
| Aged | Number |
| Under 5 years | 549 |
| 5–9 years | 691 |
| 10–15 years | 1,303 |
| 16–17 years | 625 |
| Over 17 years | 9 |
| Total | 3,177 |