Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many places for new admissions were available in secure children's homes in England and Wales in each of the last 12 months.

The department publishes data on children accommodated in secure children’s homes on an annual, rather than a monthly basis. As at the 31 March 2017, there were 227 places in use or available for use, with 203 children accommodated in these places, which means there were 24 places available for new admissions. The full statistical release is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-accommodated-in-secure-childrens-homes-31-march-2017.