Adult Support and Protection (ASP) National Minimum Dataset, 2024-25

Referrals

Adult Support and Protection (ASP) referrals can be made by different stakeholders - including members of the public - where it is known or believed that an adult is at risk, and that further action may be required to protect the person’s wellbeing, property or financial affairs.

Numbers of referrals

Overall, 63,144 ASP referrals were reported across Scotland in 2024-25. This equates to 1,358 reported referrals per 100,000 people aged 16+. Please note, these referral numbers relate to the reported number of referrals received, not the number of adults who have been referred.

The data by quarter can be found in the accompanying data tables.

Data quality note:

It is important to note that there was variation between local authorities in how they counted ASP referrals in 2024-25. The ways in which local authorities counted referral numbers included:

• Every referral made to the local authority: this included potentially multiple referrals about one individual or incident from different referrers.
• Cumulate referrals made about an incident or individual: this means that even if multiple referrers contacted ASP services about the same incident or referral, this only counted as one referral.
• After decision of appropriateness of referral: some local authorities had screening processes of all referrals, and referrals were only counted as ASP referrals if they were deemed relevant to ASP.

In addition to ongoing local variation, the figure reported for total ASP referrals in 2024-25 may be an over-estimate. This was due to challenges with recording and reporting in a small number of local authorities. Please see the data and methodology chapter in the accompanying technical report for more information.

Referrals by source

Across Scotland in 2024-25, Police Scotland was the most common source of reported ASP referrals, with 14,626 (23%) of all reported referrals (figure 1). This was followed by referrals reported as being from care homes with 11,476 (18%), ‘social work – adults (including Mental Health Officers)’ with 4,272 (7%), ‘care at home provider’ with 3,782 (6%) and ‘other third sector organisations’ with 3,463 (5%) reported referrals.

Figure 1: The highest number of ASP referrals in 2024-25 were reported as coming from Police Scotland.

The five most commonly reported ASP referral sources by number of reported referrals, in 2024-25.

In the ASP NMDS, referrals to different NHS services are collected as five distinct categories. This is to help Adult Protection Committees and others across the ASP partnerships to gain a better understanding of where NHS referrals are coming from. These categories are: NHS 24, NHS Primary Care, NHS Acute Services, NHS Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services, and NHS Community Health Services. When looking at these five NHS categories combined, the NHS became the third most commonly reported source of referrals, with 8,159 (13%) of reported referrals (figure 2). This was then followed by ‘social work – adults (including Mental Health Officers)’ with 4,272 (7%) and ‘care at home provider’ with 3,782 (6%).

Figure 2: NHS services combined were together the third most commonly reported source of ASP referrals in 2024-25, after Police Scotland and care homes.

The five most commonly reported ASP referral sources by number of reported referrals, with NHS services combined, in 2024-25.

The full breakdown of ASP referrals by reported source can be found in the accompanying data tables.

Data quality note:

The breakdown of referrals by reported source was affected by challenges with recording the source of referral, and changes to reporting practices part-way through the year, in a small number of local authorities. Please see the the data and methodology chapter in the accompanying technical report for more information.