Data and methodology

Indicators in the Adult Support and Protection National Minimum Dataset

The Adult Support and Protection National Minimum Dataset (ASP NMDS) in 2025-26 included 19 data items (‘indicators’) that related to ASP activity in Scotland in the financial year 2025-26. Each of the 32 local authorities submitted a quarterly return of the indicators to the Scottish Government.

A full list of the indicators in the 2025-26 ASP NMDS is in Annex 1.

Assessment of data quality in the ASP NMDS 2025-26

The ASP NMDS has been in development since 2020 and was introduced in a trial phase (‘phase 1’) for financial year 2023-24. Local authorities needed to update their reporting practices and recording systems to allow for the reporting for the ASP NMDS. These changes could not always happen in time for all local authorities to report data consistently during 2023-24. In recognition of this, Scottish Government chose not to publish data from 2023-24 (with the exception of Large Scale Investigation figures, which are published for the first time in the 2024-25 publication).

The Scottish Government and Iriss assessed the data for 2024-25 as sufficiently robust and consistent to enable publication of statistics on most of the data items at a national (Scottish) level, as Official Statistics in Development. Those statistics were published on 9 September 2025. Official statistics in development may be new or existing statistics, and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. If you have any feedback on these statistics that you would like to share, you can contact Scottish Government using the contact details in the ‘Tell us what you think’ section.

Statistics from some of the indicators collected in 2024-25 were not published, to give local authorities further time to develop their systems to ensure the data for these indicators were robust and consistent.

Throughout 2025-26, Iriss and the Scottish Government worked with the local authorities to improve the data quality. The data returned for 2025-26 was again assessed as being sufficiently robust and consistent enough to enable publication of statistics on most of the data items at a national (Scottish) level, again as Official Statistics in Development. Those statistics are available in the publication Adult Support and Protection (ASP) National Minimum Dataset, 2025-26, published by the Scottish Government on 6 October 2026. However, some of data quality and recording challenges remained. There is more information in the following sub-sections on data quality.

Iriss and the Scottish Government will continue to work with local practitioners and national agencies throughout financial year 2026-27 to further strengthen and implement the ASP NMDS. This will include supporting them to consistently report on the indicators.

There is more information about the development of the ASP NMDS, future plans for further development, and about Adult Support and Protection in general, in the main statistical publication.

Ensuring data quality

To provide their quarterly data returns, local authorities used a reporting template (“workbook”) which was accessed from Iriss’ website. Guidance on completing the workbook, a glossary of the terms used, and a set of FAQs was also provided on Iriss’ website to assist local authorities with their data returns. Local authorities were also encouraged to provide additional feedback to Iriss and the Scottish Government where needed on any issues they are encountering with providing robust or consistent data.

The quarterly returns were shared securely with Iriss by the Scottish Government. Iriss conducted data quality checks on the data received and worked with Scottish Government and the relevant local authorities to resolve any identified issues. Iriss also compiled national level quarterly data from the returns. The Scottish Government and Iriss hosted regular online meetings attended by local authority, Adult Protection Committee, and data systems provider representatives, during which summaries from the quarterly returns were shared as Management Information. This provided key ASP stakeholders with a view of how their local data compared to national level results and also presented a further opportunity for them to identify any reporting concerns, challenges, improvements arising, and best practice in data analysis and application.

Iriss also provided feedback and a summary of the quarterly data trends to local authorities as unpublished Management Information, via regular online presentations. Local authorities were encouraged to provide feedback to Iriss and Scottish Government during these presentations and throughout the year.

Development and use of the ASP NMDS data is supported by the ASP National Data Reference Group, co-chaired by the Scottish Government and Iriss.

Production of the 2025-26 publication

This publication has been produced by the Scottish Government in collaboration with Iriss. The roles of the two organisations are explained here.

The Scottish Government:

• Received quarterly returns from local authorities throughout 2025-26 and shared them securely with Iriss.
• Supported ongoing data quality checks with local authorities throughout the year. This included working with Iriss to organise regular feedback sessions to reflect on the data as management information, and to discuss potential reporting issues.
• Carried out data quality checks on the compiled 2025-26 data.
• Provided final quality assurance on the statistics reported in the Adult Support and Protection (ASP) National Minimum Dataset, 2025-26 statistical publication.
• Ensured the statistics in the publication were produced in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Iriss:

• Received the quarterly returns from the Scottish Government.
• Carried out ongoing data quality checks with local authorities throughout the year. This included presenting the collated national data – plus local data - as management information at regular feedback sessions and discussing potential issues at the regular Data Reference Group meetings.
• Compiled the quarterly ASP NMDS returns from local authorities into the annual ASP NMDS 2025-26 data set and shared this securely with the Scottish Government.
• Produced the statistics for 2025-26 reported in the Adult Support and Protection (ASP) National Minimum Dataset, 2025-26 statistical publication.

Both organisations:

• Worked collaboratively with local authorities and their data system providers throughout the year to address potential data quality concerns and improve the consistency and robustness of data reporting.
• Contributed to producing the commentary in this publication.

General data quality notes

The data presented in the main publication and in the accompanying data tables is a national-level summary of the data, as reported to the Scottish Government through the ASP NMDS quarterly returns for 2025-26.

As noted in the Introduction of the main publication, some differences exist in how local authorities implement the ASP Act and the associated ASP Code of Practice. This variation impacts the comparability across local authorities of the data reported for some indicators. For this reason, the statistics in the main publication are at national (Scotland) level, only.

Where data were missing (not reported) in 2025-26, we have not attempted to estimate the missing data. Similarly, where we were informed of a known reporting issue, we have not attempted to make any changes to the data to correct for the issue. The data presented for 2025-26 in the main publication and in the accompanying data tables is always the most recent data we received from local authorities, including any revised data where this was supplied as part of the quality assurance process.

Despite improvements between 2023-24 (‘phase 1’) and 2025-26, for the 2025-26 data collection there still existed some variation in the recording practices and data reporting abilities between local authorities that affects the statistics. Some local authorities made improvements to their reporting practices during 2025-26.

The following sub-section gives further information on the data quality notes for individual indicators in 2025-26.

Statistics for some of the indicators included in the ASP NMDS in 2025-26 have not been published. We decided not to publish statistics on an indicator where several local authorities were unable to report data, and/or where several expressed concern about the robustness of their data. Please see the section on indicators not reported on in Annex 1 for more information.

Data quality notes on individual indicators

In the main publication we provided a high-level summary of any known data quality notes for each indicator. Further details are provided below.

The individual local authorities affected for each indicator are not named. However, we have illustrated the scale of the effect by providing a figure for the percentage of Scotland’s 16+ population covered by the local authorities referred to, as calculated from the mid-2025 population estimates produced by National Records of Scotland (NRS) (published 14 July 2026). Where the effect refers to only one local authority, we have presented this percentage figure as a range, in order not to identify the local authority by its size.

Number of ASP referrals, and source (indicator 1)

In 2025-26, there was continuing variation in how local authorities count ASP referrals. The ways in which local authorities collect 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, users should be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

The number of ASP referrals, and the analysis of ASP referrals by source, in 2025-26 are not directly comparable to the statistics for 2024-25. This is because two local authorities made changes to how they record or count referrals between the two years. This affects the both total number of national-level referrals and also the national-level breakdown of referrals by source. The changes made by both areas should lead to improvements in the data they report on referrals in the longer term. The Scottish Government - with the support of Iriss and the ASP NMDS learning partners - will continue to work with local authorities towards improved and consistent collection of data on ASP referrals in future years. Combined size of local authorities affected: 9%.

Numbers of inquiries undertaken with and without the use of investigatory powers (indicators 2 and 3)

Since 2024-25 there has been an ongoing inconsistent approach to the reporting of inquiries with and without the use of investigatory powers across local authorities. There were two reasons for this inconsistency. Firstly, the language around inquiries with investigatory powers changed with the introduction of the updated Code of Practice in July 2022. Previously, these would have been referred to as investigations. However, the decision was made to refer to these nationally as inquiries with investigatory powers to align with the anticipated revised Code of Practice during the development of the ASP  NMDS. This change made reporting on inquiries with the use of investigatory powers a challenge for some areas. Secondly, despite the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 (‘the ASP Act’) naming investigatory powers in Section 7 to 10, there was inconsistent ongoing practice across Scotland of what action was classed as investigatory powers.

A national working group has developed guidance that was shared with local authorities in the summer of 2026. While this guidance is expected to improve the data reported for this indicator in future years, the differences in interpretation remain for the data of 2025-26.

In addition, users should be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

Under-reporting of the numbers of inquiries with the use of investigatory powers: for one local authority, there are recording challenges due to the limitations of the data system which does not always allow an inquiry to be updated as ‘with the use of investigatory powers’. As this was consistent with 2024-25, the numbers between years are comparable. Size of local authority affected: <5%.

Primary type of harm reported for inquiries (indicator 15)

There were challenges for some local authorities to accurately report the primary type of harm, particularly for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers. For this reason, the data presented on primary type of harm was an approximation of the situation at national level. It also means the total numbers reported for primary type of harm did not match the total numbers of inquiries reported.

Users should also be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

For primary type of harm reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers: one local authority in 2025-26 collected multiple harm types for individuals and was unable to supply data on primary harm type. This area’s data has been excluded from the statistics in the main publication. This contributes to why the total number of types of harm reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers does not match the total number of inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers (indicator 2). Size of local authority affected: <5%.

Primary location of harm reported for inquiries (indicator 16)

There were challenges for some local authorities to accurately report the primary location of harm, particularly for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers. For this reason, the data presented on primary location of harm was an approximation of the situation at national level. It also means the total numbers reported for primary location of harm did not match the total numbers of inquiries reported.

Users should also be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

For primary location of harm reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers: two local authorities were unable to report on the primary location of harm in any of the quarters of 2025-26, and another was unable to report in two quarters. This contributes to why the total number of primary location of harm reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers did not match the total number of inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers reported (indicator 2). Combined size of the local authorities affected: 11%.

Age and gender reported for inquiries (indicator 13)

Throughout 2024-25, local authorities provided feedback that the age bands in the national minimum dataset in 2024-25 made it difficult to identify the largest group of people subject to inquiries, or to have comparable data to other data collections. After some research, the age bands were adjusted for 2025-26 to align more closely to the age bands used in other health and social care statistics collections, as well as to highlight age groups of particular importance to ASP.

As in 2024-25, not all local authorities were able to report age and gender (including ‘not known’) for all individuals who were the subject of inquiries. Because of this, the data presented was an approximation of the situation at the national level, and the total numbers reported by age and gender did not match the total numbers of inquiries reported.

Users should also be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

Because of the change in age bands from 2024-25 to 2025-26, two local authorities were unable to report age and gender for Q1 of 2025-26. Combined size of local authorities affected: <5%.

Ethnicity reported for inquiries (indicator 14)

Not all local authorities were able to report an ethnicity for all inquiries reported. Because of this, the data presented was an approximation of the situation at the national level, and the total numbers reported for ethnicity did not match the total numbers of inquiries reported. The large proportion of inquiries where ethnicity was reported as ‘not known’ may in some cases be due to local recording processes and the stage at which ethnicity for the person would be recorded.

Users should also be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

One local authority was unable to report on ethnicity and reported the ethnicity for all inquiries undertaken in 2025-26 as ‘not known’. Size of local authority affected: <5%.

Primary client group reported for inquiries (indicator 17)

There were challenges for some local authorities to accurately report the primary client group, particularly for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers. For this reason, the data presented on primary client group was an approximation of the situation at national level. It also means the total numbers reported for primary client group reported for inquiries did not match the total numbers of inquiries reported.

Users should also be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

For primary client group reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers: one local authority in 2025-26 collected multiple client groups for individuals and was unable to supply data on primary client group. This area’s data has been excluded from the statistics in the main publication. This contributes to why the total numbers by client group reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers does not match the total number of inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers (indicator 2). Size of local authority affected: <5%.

Reported actions taken following inquiries (indicators 10 and 11)

Some local authorities were not able to report a breakdown of all actions taken following inquiries, or faced challenges in providing a breakdown which led to them reporting a large share as ‘pending/unknown’. For this reason, the data presented on actions taken following inquiries was an approximation of the situation at national level. It is also why the total reported numbers of actions taken following inquiries did not match the total reported numbers of inquiries undertaken.

Users should be aware of the following specific data quality notes:

For both kinds of inquiries, one LA noted that some the actions following inquiries that they reported in their own system could not be reported in the ASP NMDS, as they believed those actions did not fit within the existing ASP NMDS categories. Around 10% of their actions taken following inquiries were therefore missing from the reported national-level breakdown of actions taken. Size of local authority affected: 5-15%.

Reported case conferences (indicator 4)

One local authority reported challenges with accurately distinguishing between initial and review case conferences in their recording system. For this reason the statistics on initial and review case conferences at Scotland level in 2025-26 should be treated as indicative of the Scotland-wide situation. The same local authority reported the same challenge in 2024-25, which allows comparisons between years to be made. Size of local authority affected: 5-15%.

Number of Adult Support and Protection Plans reported (indicator 8)

The ASP NMDS is intended to collect data on the total number of ASPPs, including ongoing ASPPs (which may have one or more associated review case conferences) (indicator 8a). Due to the ongoing challenges some local authorities face in accurately reporting ongoing ASPPs, as well as variation in how some report ongoing ASPPs following review case conferences, we are unable to provide a statistic for total numbers of ASPPs (newly commenced and ongoing) during 2025-26. In 2025-26 two local authorities in particular noted substantial challenges in extracting data on total numbers of ASPPs from their recording systems and were therefore unable to supply figures for indicator 8a. Combined size of local authorities affected: <5%.

Protection orders granted (indicator 9)

The number of protection orders granted (indicator 9b) was reported on in the main publication. One local authority does not collect data on protection orders granted. For this reason, the statistics presented on protection orders granted in 2025-26 is an approximation of the situation at national level. However as this was consistent with 2024-25, the numbers between years are comparable. Size of local authority: 5-15%.

The number of protection orders applied for (indicator 9a) was not reported on, as not all local authorities consistently reported protection orders applied for that were not granted, in 2025-26.