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Children in Care

Volume 455: debated on Thursday 11 January 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were taken into local authority care during the Christmas/winter school holidays in England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (113340)

Information on the number of children who have been taken into care under an interim or full care order, emergency protection order, under police protection or under a child assessment between 21 December and 5 January inclusive in England in each year since 1997, is shown in the following table.

Table 1: number of children who have been taken into care during the Christmas/winter school holidays for the years 1997 to 20061,2,3—England

Number

Children taken into care during the Christmas/winter school holidays

19974

140

19985

190

19995

250

20005

260

20015

200

20025

200

20035

190

20044

210

20054

220

20064

230

1 Children who have been taken into care between 21 December until 5 January inclusive.

2 Children who have been taken into care under an interim or full care order, emergency protection order, under police protection or under a child assessment order.

3 Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.

4 Figures are derived from the SSDA903 system which collected information on all looked after children in 1996/97 and since 2003/04.

5 Figures are derived from the SSDA903 which collected information from a one third sample survey of all looked after children between 1997/98 and 2002/03.