Section 3 - Demographics of people subject to inquiries

Local authorities are encouraged to collect and report limited demographic data on people who were the subject of Adult Support and Protection (ASP) inquiries, for the ASP National Minimum Dataset (NMDS).

Note that the statistics presented in this chapter relate to the number of inquiries undertaken where demographic data was reported, not the number of individual people who were the subjects of those inquiries. An individual person may have been the subject of more than one inquiry during 2025-26. Where this was the case, their demographic data may have been recorded and reported more than once.

In 2025-26, a few local authorities reported challenges with recording or reporting the demographic data for all cases where people were subject to inquiries. Because of this, the total numbers presented in this chapter do not match the total numbers reported in section 2 on numbers of inquiries. For more information, please refer to the accompanying technical report.

Age and gender

Information on the age and gender of the person who was the subject of an inquiry was reported for a total of 49,953 inquiries in 2025-26.

Within those, in 55% of inquiries (27,278) the gender of the person who was the subject of the inquiry was reported as female, and in 45% (22,333) their gender was reported as male. In less than 1% of inquiries the gender of the person was reported as trans or non-binary (34), or ‘prefer not to say’ (308). The distribution of genders reported for inquiries remained similar to 2024-25 (noting that the 2025-26 data is missing data from one quarter for one local authority – see data quality notes below).

The most common age and gender group to be reported for the subject of inquiries in 2025-26 were females aged 85 years and over, with 5,869 inquiries reported for this group (12% of the total) (figure 6). By comparison, females aged 85 and over were estimated to make up just 2% of the Scottish population of people aged 16 and over in 2025, according to the National Records of Scotland’s mid-2025 population estimates.

Within most age bands, more inquiries were reported as being for females than for males. The only ages where more inquiries were reported as being for males than females were for ages 55 to 64, and 65 to 69 years.

Figure 6: The largest number of inquiries reported by age and gender in 2025-26 was for females aged 85 and over, at 5,869. In most age bands, more inquiries were reported as being for females than for males.

Bar chart showing the numbers of ASP inquiries by the reported age and gender of the people who were the subject of those inquiries (in cases where age and gender was reported), 2025-26.

As in 2024-25, the ASP NMDS included ages 16 to 17 as an age category for people who were the subject of an ASP inquiry in 2025-26. This is because at age 16 or 17, young people might be supported through children's or adult's support services, or are transitioning from one to another. Referrals for this age group were reported as a distinct age group in order to inform practice and policy improvements that relate specifically to this group of young people. More information on this is available from this document produced by Iriss.

Notes on data quality and comparison to previous year

The age bands used for this indicator were changed for the 2025-26 ASP NMDS, following feedback from local authorities and to bring them into alignment with similar health and social care data collections.

Two local authorities was not able to report age and gender data for quarter one of 2025-26, as their recording systems could not be updated to the new age bands for 2025-26 in time for quarter one reporting. This means the age and gender information presented here is only indicative of the Scotland total. There is more information in the accompanying technical report.

Ethnicity

In 2025-26, information about the ethnicity of the person who was the subject of an inquiry was reported for a total of 51,111 inquiries. This included local authorities reporting ethnicity as ‘not known’.

Ethnicity was reported as ‘not known’ for 24% of inquiries (12,195) in 2025-26. This was an increase from 22% in 2024-25.

Among the inquiries where a known ethnicity was reported in 2025-26, the most commonly reported ethnicity was ‘white’. Of the 38,916 inquiries where a known ethnicity was reported, the person’s ethnicity was reported as ‘white’ for 96% of those inquiries (37,354). In the other 4% (1,562) of inquiries with a reported known ethnicity, the person’s ethnicity was recorded as an other known ethnicity (figure 7). These same proportions were seen in 2024-25, when the person’s ethnicity was reported as white in 96% of inquiries with a reported known ethnicity.

Figure 7: In the majority of inquiries in 2025-26 the ethnicity of the person who was the subject of the inquiry was reported as white (over 37,000 inquiries). In more than 12,000 inquiries the person’s ethnicity was reported as ‘not known’.

Bar chart showing the numbers of ASP inquiries by reported ethnicity (including ‘not known’), 2025-26.

Among the 1,562 inquiries where the person’s ethnicity was reported as an other known ethnicity in 2025-26, the most commonly reported ethnicity was ‘Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian’ (747 inquiries, or 48%), followed by ‘other ethnic group’ (447 inquiries, or 29%) (figure 8).

Figure 8: In 2025-26, the largest number of other known ethnicities reported for people who were the subject of an inquiry was ‘Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian’ (747 inquiries)

Bar chart showing the number of inquiries by reported ethnicity, among the 1,562 inquiries where the person’s ethnicity was reported as an other known ethnicity, 2025-26

Notes on data quality and comparison to previous year

In 2025-26, one local authority was unable to record ethnicity data for people who were the subject of inquiries and therefore reported all inquiries as ‘not known’. Therefore the statistics in this section are only indicative of the situation at Scotland-level. The same local authority was also unable to record and report ethnicity data in 2024-25, which allows comparisons between years to be made.

The large proportion of inquiries where the ethnicity of the person who was the subject of the inquiry was recorded as ‘not known’ across the 32 local authorities (24%) makes it difficult to reliably identify, monitor or address any potential ethnic inequalities in access to ASP services. There is more information in the accompanying technical report on why some areas may have found it difficult to record and report ethnicity.

Through 2026-27 the Scottish Government, with the support of Iriss and the local authority learning partners, will be engaging with local authorities to understand if there are ways to improve the collection of ethnicity data. There is more information in the sub-section on planned improvements in section 6.

Primary client group

The ASP NMDS collects data on the primary client group for people who were the subject of inquiries. This means the primary vulnerability someone has which would (potentially) qualify them as an adult at risk. The ASP NMDS only collects the primary client group. This does not mean that individuals do not fit in or belong to other client groups. Where local authorities thought the primary client group was not represented by one of the existing categories in the ASP NMDS, they could report it as ‘other’ and provide further details.

Primary client group reported for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers

A primary client group was reported for 34,449 inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26. Among those, the most common primary client group reported was dementia (22%), followed by ‘mental health excluding dementia’ (19%) and ‘infirmity or frailty due to age’ (17%) (figure 9).

The primary client group was reported as ‘other’ for 14% of inquiries without investigatory powers in 2025-26. Most of these ‘other’ inquiries were reported as ‘unknown’, ‘not recorded’ or ‘other vulnerability’. However, ‘other’ also included acute illness / physical health issues, or domestic abuse.

Figure 9: Dementia was the most frequently reported primary client group (22%) for inquiries undertaken without the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26.

Bar chart showing the percentage of primary client groups reported for inquiries without investigatory powers in 2025-26.

Notes on data quality and comparison to previous year

One local authority’s data has been excluded from the statistics on inquiries without the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26 because a change they made in how they collected the data made their return inconsistent with the other local authorities. Because of this, comparisons with the statistics from 2024-25 on inquiries without investigatory powers have not been made. See the accompanying technical report for more information.

Primary client group reported for inquiries undertaken with the use of investigatory powers

A primary client group was reported for 14,610 inquiries undertaken with the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26. Among those, the most common primary client group reported was ‘mental health excluding dementia’ (20%), dementia (18%) and ‘infirmity/frailty due to age’ (17%) (figure 10).

These statistics show a slight change compared to the previous year (2024-25). In both years the most commonly reported primary client group was ‘mental health excluding dementia’ (at 20%). However in 2024-25, ‘infirmity/frailty due to age’ was the second most commonly reported client group (17%) followed by dementia (16%).

The primary client group was reported as ‘other’ for 14% of inquiries undertaken with the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26. Most of these ‘other’ inquiries were reported as ‘unknown’, ‘not recorded’ or ‘other vulnerability’. However, ‘other’ also included self-neglect or domestic abuse.

Figure 10: Mental health (excluding dementia) was the most frequently reported primary client group (20%) for inquiries undertaken with the use of investigatory powers in 2025-26.

Bar chart showing the percentages of primary client group reported for inquiries with investigatory powers in 2025-26.