Number of children taken into care by age and region: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/03505  
Date received: 23 November 2018  
Date responded: 7 December 2018

 

 

Broken down by region (LA) for each of the following years: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.
a. The number of children taken into care (clarified: started to be looked after away from home) before the age of 12 months.
b. Of those in Part a. how many infants were less than 30 days old when they were taken into care?
c. The total number of children who became looked after away from home during those periods.

 

 

I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested in Excel table format.

The answer to your question is in the 3 tables within that spreadsheet. As per the request, the numbers provided are for children who started to be looked after during the reporting period and whose first placement was away from home. The numbers of individuals who started to be looked after at home during the period are not provided. There is the potential that a number of individuals who started to be looked after at home then moved to a placement away from home while still under 1 year of age, but the process to retrieve this data is likely to be too time consuming for timing of this FOI and the numbers affected are likely to be small.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information.  The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained below.

 

 

An exemption applies.

An exemption(s) under section(s) s.38(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested.  This exemption means that information which could lead to the identification of an individual has been redacted. Where numbers of children in a category (e.g. children who become looked after under the age of 30 days in Shetland) are 1-4, the small numbers mean that children may be identifiable and so these numbers are redacted.

This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

 

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses