Children’s Social Work Statistics: Looked After Children 2023/24
Looked After Children Statistics for Scotland for 2023/24 that cover data on children who are looked after, young people in continuing care, and young people eligible for aftercare services.
Please note that the Publication Tables and Additional Tables Excel documents were revised on 24 April 2025 and 21 May 2025. See Contents pages for detail of tables subject to revision.
These statistics include data collected from 32 local authorities in Scotland and cover statistics on: looked after children, young people in continuing care, and young people eligible for aftercare.
These figures relate to the reporting year 01 August 2023 to 31 July 2024. All data used to produce the tables and charts are available in the supporting documents, alongside additional breakdowns. Looked After Children statistics form part of our annual Children’s Social Work data collections.
For purposes of presentation, table columns and chart axes refer to these as whole years (e.g., 2024 reflects 01 August 2023-31 July 2024 collection). This report includes some revisions to figures for the preceding reporting year (2022-23) in line with ongoing data validation improvements. As such, some 2022-23 figures may be different to those previously reported. Please refer to background notes on comparability over time.
An Accredited Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
These statistics are accredited official statistics. The Office for Statistics Regulation has independently reviewed and accredited these statistics as complying with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
This report also contains official statistics in development on Care and Risk Management. These are new statistics, and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. Details of the accreditation of these statistics can be found on the OSR website.
More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.