Adult concern referrals: FOI release

Information requested

1. How many adult concern referrals did you receive in 2021, and of these:

1. How many went to investigation?
2. How many went to case conference?
3. How many remained under ASP/ case management?
4. How many resulted in protection orders and what were they – assessment orders, removal orders, banning or temporary banning order?
5. How many went to MARAC?

2. How many adult concern referrals did you receive for women with learning disabilities (as differentiated from specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia) in 2021, and of these:

1. How many went to investigation?
2. How many went to case conference?
3. How many remained under ASP/ case management?
4. How many resulted in protection orders and what were they – assessment orders, removal orders, banning or temporary banning order?
5. How many went to MARAC?

3. How many adult concern referrals did you receive for women with learning disabilities (as differentiated from specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia) experiencing Gender-Based violence in 2021, and of these:

1. How many went to investigation?
2. How many went to case conference?
3. How many remained under ASP/ case management?
4. How many resulted in protection orders and what were they – assessment orders, removal orders, banning or temporary banning order?
5. How many went to MARAC?

Response

Background to the information sources:
The response to these questions reference two data collections containing Adult Support and Protection data:
(i) the annual collection, and
(ii) the Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return which was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to differences in data and reporting, it is not possible to compare the sources.

Adult Support and Protection data is reported nationally to Scottish Government by local authorities. The annual collection is currently under review and data from the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21 have not been published due to the inconsistent data recording between local authorities. Data from financial year 2021/22 is not available yet. However, we do hold 2020/21 data and can answer some questions, in section 1, with these data limitations in mind.

Adult Support and Protection referral, investigation and initial case conferences data is published as part of the Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return. This return runs every fortnight and is published on this dashboard. It contains high level aggregate figures (e.g. no demographic data etc.) and can give a more up to date picture.

For the questions we cannot answer, individual local authorities may be able to respond. However, there may be limited consistency in definitions of referrals and investigations between them.

Each of these data sources are not subject to the same approaches and rigour used to finalise Official Statistics. In particular, please note the following when interpreting the figures:

• There is thought to be limited consistency around how local authorities are interpreting and constituting referrals and investigations. For those reasons, a Scotland estimate is provided and it is not advised to compare local authorities.
• Minimal validation and data quality checks have been undertaken on this management information.
• The Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return didn’t run every fortnight in 2021, so we are not able to provide data for a complete year.
• Where up to date data was not provided by a local area, figures from the most recent submission for that area were rolled forward to provide a Scotland estimate.
• Where submitted data was found to be incorrect after querying with local authorities, figures have been amended as necessary, with the exception of East Lothian in the Vulnerable Child and
• Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return. In East Lothian, between July 2021 and January 2022, referrals from Police Scotland were all classed as “adults at risk” when it is now known that some were Adult Concerns. This issue has since been rectified from February 2022 onwards.
• Some figures may have been lower during holiday periods (Easter, Bank Holidays etc.).

Responses to the questions:
1. How many adult concern referrals did you receive in 2021?
From the annual collection, between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021, 34,996 Adult Support and Protection referrals were registered.

From the Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return, between 31st December 2020 and 1st December 2021, there were an estimated 35,961 Adult Support and Protection/Adults at Risk referrals and 73,000 Adult Concerns. Those who the referrer does not know or believe to meet the three point test are regarded as Adult Concerns rather than Adults at Risk. Adult concern figures collated nationally through the current fortnightly dataset only include concerns raised by Police Scotland.

and of these:

• How many went to investigation?

From the annual collection, between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021, 5,257 Adult Support and Protection investigations commenced.

From the Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return, between 31st December 2020 and 1st December 2021, 4,677 investigations are estimated to have started in 2021. This collection does not contain the total number of investigations. In cases where a full investigation is not needed, a referral can still mean other steps have been taken to ensure the person is supported and protected.
 

• How many went to case conference?

From the annual collection, between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021, 1,578 initial, 1,640 review and 126 mixed case conferences occurred.

From the Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return, between 31st December 2020 and 1st December 2021, 1,644 initial case conferences are estimated to have been held in 2021.
 

• How many remained under ASP/case management?

From the annual collection, between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021, we cannot tell how many remained on case management or for how long. However, 47% of referrals and 32% of investigations went on to have adult protection action. In cases where Adult Protection services are not needed, other steps can be taken to ensure the person is supported and protected.

The Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return doesn’t collection any information on how many people remained under ASP case management.
 

• How many resulted in protection orders and what were they – assessment orders, removal orders, banning or temporary banning order?

From the annual collection, between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021, a total of 90 protection orders were granted. These orders included 38 Banning Orders with Power of Arrest; 24 Temporary Banning Orders with Power of Arrest; 14 Banning Orders; 10 Temporary Banning Orders and less than 5 Assessment Orders and Removal Orders.

The Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return doesn’t collection any information on protection orders.
 

• How many went to MARAC?

We do not hold the number of people who went to MARACs where cases related to Adult Support and Protection.

2. We cannot answer the questions regarding women with learning disabilities for the following reasons:

• The annual collection does not collect demographic information on referrals.
• While the annual collection includes demographic information on sex and disability for investigations, it does not collect them together, for example with individual level data, meaning it contains the number of people with a learning disability and the number of women but not the number of women with a learning disability. The annual collection does not collect demographic information on case conferences.
• The annual collection is collected via aggregated data in specific tables where the demographic information is not linked to the type of harm or protection orders for investigations or case conferences.
• While the annual collection does collect the main type of harm e.g. physical, financial, sexual etc. for investigations, it doesn’t indicate whether that harm relates to domestic violence, or any other form of gender based violence.
• We do not hold information on the number of people who went to MARACs where cases related to Adult Support and Protection.
• The Vulnerable Child and Adult Protection Fortnightly Monitoring Return does not contain any demographic data, type of harm or protection order. It does include the number of domestic abuse instances but does not include demographic information, whether the instance related to Adult Support and Protection or whether those instances went on to a MARAC.

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