Children's Social Work Statistics, Scotland 2020-21

Child Protection

Children on the Child Protection Register

↓ The number of children on the Child Protection Register decreased by 20% since the previous year.

2,104 children were on the Child Protection Register – the lowest figure since 2002 (Chart 4).

Characteristics of children on the Child Protection Register

52% were below the age of 5 years

48% were aged 5+ years

48% were male

47% were female

Table 2.1: Children on the Child Protection Register by sex, 2011-2021

	Number			Percentage
	2011	2020	2021	2011	2020	2021
Male	1,282	1,256	1,014	50%	48%	48%
Female	1,209	1,261	985	47%	48%	47%
Unborns[1]	80	124	105	3%	5%	5%
All Children	2,571	2,641	2,104	100%	100%	100%

^[1] Unborn children include some children with a known sex and those with an unknown sex. Please refer to Publication Table 2.1 for breakdowns of these.

Child Protection Case Conferences

In total, 6,374 concerns were identified at Child Protection Case Conferences. Of all concerns identified, the most common concerns were: domestic abuse (16%), neglect (15%), parental mental health problems (15%), parental substance use (15%), and emotional abuse (12%; Chart 5).

^[1] Multiple concerns can be recorded (rather than just the main category of concern). This means that the total number of concerns will be greater than the total number of registrations.

^[2] We are aware of ongoing change in terminology – from ‘Child Protection Case Conferences’ to ‘Child Protection Planning Meetings’. We are committed to implementing this change in future reports, but will refer to ‘Case Conferences’ here to reflect the terminology used during the time spanning the 2021 collection period.

Child Protection registrations and de-registrations

Registrations

↓ The number of child protection registrations decreased by 13% since 2020.

80% of registrations were for children who had never been registered before, the same as the proportion in 2020 (Table 2.2).

20% of registrations were for children who had been registered before. As in 2020, 11% of all registrations were for children previously registered two years ago or more.

Table 2.2: Number of registrations following an initial, pre-birth or transfer-in Case Conference by length of time since previous de-registration

Time since last deregistration	Number			Percentage
	2010	2020	2021	2010	2020	2021
Never been registered before	2,971	3,166	2,753	84%	80%	80%
Registered before but time unknown	0	0	0	0%	0%	0%
Less than 6 months	81	104	75	2%	3%	2%
6 months to under 1 year	98	81	80	3%	2%	2%
1 year to under 18 months	67	89	92	2%	2%	3%
18 months to under 2 years	60	59	67	2%	1%	2%
2 years or more	269	446	363	8%	11%	11%
Unknown if child registered before	5	22	24	0%	1%	1%
Total	3,551	3,967	3,454	100%	100%	100%

^[1] This is calculated as a proportion of registrations excluding cases where it is not known if a child had been registered before.

De-registrations

↑ The number of de-registrations increased by 2% since 2020.

56% of de-registrations were due to improved home situation (Table 2.3).

81% of de-registrations were for children who were on the Child Protection Register for less than one year.

Table 2.3: Number of de-registrations by length of time on register and reason for de-registration ^[1]

Length of time registered

	Number			Percentage
	2010	2020	2021	2010	2020	2021
Less than 6 months	1,592	1,866	1,826	42%	48%	46%
6 months to under 1 year	1,483	1,479	1,386	39%	38%	35%
1 year to under 18 months	460	363	443	12%	9%	11%
18 months to under 2 years	168	101	158	4%	3%	4%
2 years or more	123	55	74	3%	1%	2%
No date of registration information	0	38	98	0%	1%	2%

Reason for deregistration

	Number			Percentage
	2010	2020	2021	2010	2020	2021
Child taken into care & risk reduced	538	477	404	14%	12%	10%
Child with other carers	275	312	288	7%	8%	7%
Child died	4	10	6	0%	0%	0%
Removal of perpetrator	81	123	139	2%	3%	3%
Improved home situation	1,220	2,083	2,229	32%	53%	56%
Child automatically de-registered because of age	8	6	7	0%	0%	0%
Child moved away - no continued risk	26	31	13	1%	1%	0%
Other reason	1,674	860	899	44%	22%	23%
Reason not known	0	0	0	0%	0%	0%
Total	3,826	3,902	3,985	100%	100%	100%

^[1] Includes where a child transferred to another local authority and where reason has not been recorded.

Comparisons with previous years

Monthly breakdowns of the number of children registered and de-registered from the Child Protection Register in 2020 and 2021 are provided in Chart 6. May 2021 saw the lowest number of registrations (n=211), while April 2020 saw the lowest number of de-registrations (n=225) from the Child Protection Register. While the pattern over these last two years is unclear, there was greater disparity between the number of registrations and de-registrations observed in 2021 where, during most months, the number of de-registrations was greater than the number of registrations.

Since 2015, the percentage of de-registrations of children spending less than six months on the Register increased, peaking in 2019 (51%), followed by a decrease in 2020 (48%). This year saw a further decrease in the proportion of de-registrations of children spending less than six months on the Register (Chart 7).

Geographical comparisons

Children on the Child Protection Register within Scotland

The Local Authority breakdowns of children on the Child Protection Register in Scotland are shown in Table 2.4. The rate of children on the Child Protection Register ranged from 0.4 per 1,000 children aged 0-15 years in East Renfrewshire to 5.2 per 1,000 in North Ayrshire.

Please note that there is substantial variability from year to year in the numbers of children on the Child Protection Register at a local authority level due to the small numbers of children involved in each local authority

Table 2.4: Number of children on the Child Protection Register and rate per 1,000 population aged 0-15 by local authority ^[1],[2]

Local authority	2010		2020		2021
	Number	Rate[1],[2]	Number	Rate[1],[2]	Number	Rate[1],[2]
Aberdeen City	119	3.7	142	4.0	83	2.3
Aberdeenshire	51	1.1	111	2.3	73	1.5
Angus	92	4.5	35	1.9	25	1.3
Argyll and Bute	43	2.9	49	3.9	32	2.5
City of Edinburgh	256	3.6	95	1.2	97	1.2
Clackmannanshire	56	5.9	43	4.8	41	4.6
Dumfries and Galloway	100	3.9	26	1.1	34	1.5
Dundee City	70	2.9	102	4.3	84	3.5
East Ayrshire	42	1.9	75	3.6	71	3.4
East Dunbartonshire	28	1.5	37	1.9	23	1.2
East Lothian	70	3.8	45	2.3	29	1.5
East Renfrewshire	31	1.7	9	0.5	8	0.4
Falkirk	73	2.6	142	5.1	101	3.6
Fife	220	3.4	147	2.3	152	2.4
Glasgow City	286	3.0	413	4.1	282	2.8
Highland	99	2.4	129	3.4	96	2.5
Inverclyde	35	2.5	61	4.9	31	2.5
Midlothian	96	6.2	49	2.7	38	2.1
Moray	44	2.6	31	1.9	35	2.2
Na h-Eileanan Siar	*	*	3	0.7	5	1.2
North Ayrshire	60	2.4	136	6.1	115	5.2
North Lanarkshire	63	1.0	118	1.9	117	1.9
Orkney Islands	*	*	9	2.5	*	*
Perth and Kinross	49	1.9	95	3.9	66	2.7
Renfrewshire	119	3.9	98	3.2	71	2.4
Scottish Borders	32	1.6	34	1.8	34	1.8
Shetland Islands	10	2.2	9	2.2	8	1.9
South Ayrshire	43	2.3	29	1.7	19	1.1
South Lanarkshire	135	2.4	157	2.8	116	2.1
Stirling	43	2.7	53	3.5	56	3.7
West Dunbartonshire	27	1.6	67	4.3	57	3.7
West Lothian	119	3.4	92	2.6	103	2.9
Scotland	2,518	2.7	2,641	2.9	2,104	2.3

^[1] Per 1,000 population aged 0-15 years. Source: National Records of Scotland mid-year population estimates.

^[2] The rate shown in this table includes unborn children who are on the register.

Child Protection Investigations within Scotland

A Child Protection Investigation refers to a joint investigation between social work, police and health services (as well as any other relevant agencies). The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether any child protection action is needed and whether a Case Conference should be held.

Local Authority breakdowns relating to Child Protection Investigations in Scotland are shown in Table 2.5. The rate of Child Protection Investigations ranged between 0.6 per 1,000 in East Renfrewshire and 33.2 per 1,000 in Clackmannanshire.

Table 2.5 also provides Local Authority breakdowns relating to initial and pre-birth Case Conferences, as well as the number of registrations arising as a result of these. The rate of initial and pre-birth Case Conferences ranged between 0.9 per 1,000 in East Renfrewshire to 12.6 per 1,000 in North Ayrshire.

The rate of registrations from these initial and pre-birth Case Conferences ranged between 0.9 per 1,000 in East Renfrewshire to 10.7 per 1,000 in North Ayrshire.

Notably, for 664 out of 4,397 total initial and pre-birth Case Conferences (15%), no investigation was recorded within 90 days prior to the Case Conference. This suggests that the investigations for these may be missing from the figures shown. There may be other legitimate reasons for the investigation not being within 90 days prior to the Case Conference.

Table 2.5: Number and rate per 1,000 of Child Protection Investigations, initial and pre-birth Case Conferences, and associated registrations by local authority, 2020-21 ^[1],[2]

Local authority	Child Protection Investigations		Initial and pre-birth Case Conferences
	Total	Rate[1],[2]	Number with an investigation recorded within 90 days of Case Conference	Number with no investigation recorded within 90 days of Case Conference[3]	Total	Rate[1],[2]
Aberdeen City	199	5.6	154	2	156	4.4
Aberdeenshire	400	8.2	100	2	102	2.1
Angus	238	12.6	36	73	109	5.8
Argyll and Bute	97	7.7	28	26	54	4.3
City of Edinburgh	818	10.3	145	49	194	2.5
Clackmannanshire	295	33.2	82	12	94	10.6
Dumfries and Galloway	269	11.7	67	17	84	3.6
Dundee City	730	30.5	140	7	147	6.1
East Ayrshire	344	16.5	175	2	177	8.5
East Dunbartonshire	192	9.8	84	4	88	4.5
East Lothian	451	22.9	40	14	54	2.7
East Renfrewshire	12	0.6	10	8	18	0.9
Falkirk	393	14.1	132	19	151	5.4
Fife	905	14.1	289	0	289	4.5
Glasgow City	1,171	11.7	545	0	545	5.4
Highland	350	9.1	6	102	108	2.8
Inverclyde	171	13.8	88	26	114	9.2
Midlothian	501	27.7	103	0	103	5.7
Moray	258	16.1	32	21	53	3.3
Na h-Eileanan Siar	42	10.2	39	3	42	10.2
North Ayrshire	454	20.4	281	0	281	12.6
North Lanarkshire	680	10.9	263	10	273	4.4
Orkney Islands	72	20.2	5	2	7	2.0
Perth and Kinross	340	14.0	98	6	104	4.3
Renfrewshire	310	10.3	130	49	179	5.9
Scottish Borders	136	7.2	52	3	55	2.9
Shetland Islands	80	19.2	15	6	21	5.1
South Ayrshire	92	5.3	37	0	37	2.1
South Lanarkshire	780	14.0	323	24	347	6.2
Stirling	45	3.0	1	68	69	4.6
West Dunbartonshire	234	15.1	108	46	154	9.9
West Lothian	667	18.9	125	63	188	5.3
Scotland	11,726	12.8	3,733	664	4,397	4.8

Table 2.5 Continued

Local authority	Registrations from initial and pre-birth Case Conferences
	Number with an investigation recorded within 90 days of Case Conference	Number with no investigation recorded within 90 days of Case Conference	Total	Rate[1],[2]
Aberdeen City	135	2	137	3.8
Aberdeenshire	90	2	92	1.9
Angus	34	59	93	4.9
Argyll and Bute	28	20	48	3.8
City of Edinburgh	118	42	160	2.0
Clackmannanshire	62	12	74	8.3
Dumfries and Galloway	35	17	52	2.3
Dundee City	138	7	145	6.1
East Ayrshire	119	2	121	5.8
East Dunbartonshire	63	1	64	3.3
East Lothian	32	14	46	2.3
East Renfrewshire	10	8	18	0.9
Falkirk	106	12	118	4.2
Fife	255	0	255	4.0
Glasgow City	342	0	342	3.4
Highland	5	92	97	2.5
Inverclyde	45	14	59	4.8
Midlothian	83	0	83	4.6
Moray	25	19	44	2.7
Na h-Eileanan Siar	9	0	9	2.2
North Ayrshire	238	0	238	10.7
North Lanarkshire	197	10	207	3.3
Orkney Islands	5	1	6	1.7
Perth and Kinross	77	5	82	3.4
Renfrewshire	83	28	111	3.7
Scottish Borders	51	2	53	2.8
Shetland Islands	12	6	18	4.3
South Ayrshire	31	0	31	1.8
South Lanarkshire	218	14	232	4.2
Stirling	1	65	66	4.4
West Dunbartonshire	51	21	72	4.6
West Lothian	92	59	151	4.3
Scotland	2,790	534	3,324	3.6

^[1] Rate per 1,000 population aged 0-15. Source: National Records of Scotland, mid-year 2020 population estimates.

^[2] The rate shown in this table includes unborn children who are on the register.

^[3] Case Conferences with no investigation recorded within 90 days are cases where no investigation was recorded in the data provided to Scottish Government in the 90 days preceding the Case Conference.

Cross UK comparisons

The proportion of children on the Child Protection Register has remained broadly stable in Scotland over the last decade, and is notably lower compared with the rest of the UK (Chart 8). Scotland did not experience the large increases in children on the Child Protection Register during 2007-2011 as seen in the rest of the UK. There is more information on the comparability of child protection data across the UK on the Scottish Government website.

^[1] Scotland data used here is as at 31st March 2021 for comparability purposes with other UK countries. Please refer to Cross-UK comparability background notes for further information.

^[2] England data source: Characteristics of children in need 2021

^[3] Wales data source: Children on the child protection register

^[4] Northern Ireland Source: Children's Social Care Statistics for Northern Ireland 2020/21

^[5] Rate per 10,000 calculates using NRS mid 2020 population estimates for those aged under 18 years.