22 per 10,000 children are looked after (54 in England)
74% of looked-after children result from care orders (64 per cent in England)
4% are looked after because their families are in acute stress or are on low incomes (8 per cent in England)
13% of looked-after children are placed for adoption (7 per cent in England)
Buckinghamshire Council said that while the county had better success at adoption than many other areas of England, improvements could still be made. Next year the council has a target to place 24 children for adoption, rather than the seven achieved in 2000/01. Other targets include reducing the number of looked-after children and increasing the number of child protection reviews carried out in accordance with national timescales.
Source: Department of Health, Census 2001.
