Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 125962, what the most up-to-date information is which his Department holds on (a) the number of secure accommodation places for children in England, (b) the capacity of those places and (c) the number of vacancies in those places.

The most up-to-date reliable national statistics that the department holds on (a) the number of secure accommodation places for children in England, (b) the capacity of those places and (c) the number of vacancies in those places was released on 31 March 2017.

This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Children accommodated in secure children's homes: 31 March 2017’ (SFR23/2017), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-accommodated-in-secure-childrens-homes-31-march-2017. However, the publication does not contain information on the number of vacancies in the secure children’s homes, hence vacancies have been defined as the difference between capacity and the number of children in available places.

The publication gives an annual snapshot of the status of secure children's homes in England and Wales at 31 March 2017. Similar information relating to the position as at 31 March 2018 will be published in June 2018.