[holding answer 1 February 2007]: The number of placement orders made by courts in England and Wales for 1 January to 31 December 2006 was 1,434.
Statistical information on the total number of placement orders has been provided by the court service. These statistics have not yet been published.
The number of adoption orders made for all children by courts in England and Wales for 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 was 5,360 (latest figures available).
Statistical information on the total number of adoptions is included in the statistics series “Marriage, divorce and adoptions”, volume FM2, published by the Office for National Statistics. A copy of this publication is available in the House of Commons Library and on the ONS website at
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vink=581&Pos=1&ColRank=2&Rank=192.