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Official Statistics 2011/12
5 July 2012
Our Official Statistics 2011/12, which were published earlier today, reveal that the number of children and young people being referred to the Reporter fell for the fifth consecutive year.
The Official Statistics also revealed that children with Child Protection Orders (CPOs) had increased for the fourth consecutive year.
The number of children and young people referred in 2011/12 was 31,593 compared to 39,217 in 2010/11. Despite this drop, this is still 3.5% of the Scottish child population.
The vast majority of children and young people continue to be referred to the Reporter because of concerns about their welfare. In 2011/12, 28,017 children were referred on care and protection grounds, while 5,604 were referred on offence grounds (these figures include 2,028 children who were referred on both grounds).
The two most common grounds for referral continue to be that the child was a ‘victim of a Schedule 1 offence’ (13,151 children) and lack of parental care (11,194 children).
The number of children with Child Protection Orders (CPOs) increased to 781 in 2011/12 compared to 678 in 2010/11. Of the 781 children with CPOs in 2011/12, 166 (21.3%) were aged under 20 days and 383 (49%) were aged under two years.
In 2011/12, 40,708 Hearings were held for 18,836 children. This is a drop of 2.7% from 2010/11 (41,825 Hearings). At 31 March 2012, 13,093 were subject to Supervision Requirements. This is 1.4% of all children in Scotland.
The most common age for children referred on care and protection grounds, is 14 years, followed by those aged under 1 year. The most common age for children referred on offence grounds is 15 years, followed by 14 years.
SCRA’s Chair Carole Wilkinson said: “The aim of the Children’s Hearings System is to protect the most vulnerable children and young people in our communities.
“Our priority is to ensure that children and young people who require compulsory measures of supervision come to the attention of the Reporter as soon as possible, so we can make a decision which will ensure they get the help and support they need to improve their lives.
“Over the last few years, there has been some excellent co-operation and partnership working to ensure that children who do not require compulsory measures of supervision, receive earlier and effective intervention from our partners elsewhere in the children’s services arena. The impact of this is undoubtedly highlighted through the numbers of children referred in recent years.”
Carole added: “Despite the change in referral patterns, there continues to be a significant number of children and young people who require compulsory measures of intervention in their lives – 1.4% of the Scottish child population was on supervision at the end of 2011/12.
“While 3.5% of the Scottish child population was referred to the Reporter last year, the vast majority were referred because of concerns about their welfare. This reiterates the need for even more collaborative working and a continued joined up focus on supporting and protecting Scotland’s children and young people.”
SCRA’s Principal Reporter/Chief Executive Neil Hunter said: “Despite the decrease in overall referrals, there continues to be significant numbers of younger children coming to the attention of the Reporter.
“We highlighted this issue last year, as over the last few years we have seen proportional increases in the number of very young children referred to the Reporter, mainly due to lack of parental care or because they are the victims of offences such as neglect and ill treatment.
“Very young children are more likely to be referred for lack of parental care, with more children being referred in the first year of their life than any other age. More than 20% of the children referred on this ground were aged between birth and two years.”
Neil added: “We continue to see a rise in the number of children with Child Protection Orders which are granted to address emergency or high risk situations to protect vulnerable children.
“For the fourth year in a row we saw the number of children with CPOs increase in 2011/12 to 781, with proportionately more Child Protection Orders continuing to be granted for very young children, especially newborn babies.”
The Official Statistics also revealed that children with Child Protection Orders (CPOs) had increased for the fourth consecutive year.
The number of children and young people referred in 2011/12 was 31,593 compared to 39,217 in 2010/11. Despite this drop, this is still 3.5% of the Scottish child population.
The vast majority of children and young people continue to be referred to the Reporter because of concerns about their welfare. In 2011/12, 28,017 children were referred on care and protection grounds, while 5,604 were referred on offence grounds (these figures include 2,028 children who were referred on both grounds).
The two most common grounds for referral continue to be that the child was a ‘victim of a Schedule 1 offence’ (13,151 children) and lack of parental care (11,194 children).
The number of children with Child Protection Orders (CPOs) increased to 781 in 2011/12 compared to 678 in 2010/11. Of the 781 children with CPOs in 2011/12, 166 (21.3%) were aged under 20 days and 383 (49%) were aged under two years.
In 2011/12, 40,708 Hearings were held for 18,836 children. This is a drop of 2.7% from 2010/11 (41,825 Hearings). At 31 March 2012, 13,093 were subject to Supervision Requirements. This is 1.4% of all children in Scotland.
The most common age for children referred on care and protection grounds, is 14 years, followed by those aged under 1 year. The most common age for children referred on offence grounds is 15 years, followed by 14 years.
SCRA’s Chair Carole Wilkinson said: “The aim of the Children’s Hearings System is to protect the most vulnerable children and young people in our communities.
“Our priority is to ensure that children and young people who require compulsory measures of supervision come to the attention of the Reporter as soon as possible, so we can make a decision which will ensure they get the help and support they need to improve their lives.
“Over the last few years, there has been some excellent co-operation and partnership working to ensure that children who do not require compulsory measures of supervision, receive earlier and effective intervention from our partners elsewhere in the children’s services arena. The impact of this is undoubtedly highlighted through the numbers of children referred in recent years.”
Carole added: “Despite the change in referral patterns, there continues to be a significant number of children and young people who require compulsory measures of intervention in their lives – 1.4% of the Scottish child population was on supervision at the end of 2011/12.
“While 3.5% of the Scottish child population was referred to the Reporter last year, the vast majority were referred because of concerns about their welfare. This reiterates the need for even more collaborative working and a continued joined up focus on supporting and protecting Scotland’s children and young people.”
SCRA’s Principal Reporter/Chief Executive Neil Hunter said: “Despite the decrease in overall referrals, there continues to be significant numbers of younger children coming to the attention of the Reporter.
“We highlighted this issue last year, as over the last few years we have seen proportional increases in the number of very young children referred to the Reporter, mainly due to lack of parental care or because they are the victims of offences such as neglect and ill treatment.
“Very young children are more likely to be referred for lack of parental care, with more children being referred in the first year of their life than any other age. More than 20% of the children referred on this ground were aged between birth and two years.”
Neil added: “We continue to see a rise in the number of children with Child Protection Orders which are granted to address emergency or high risk situations to protect vulnerable children.
“For the fourth year in a row we saw the number of children with CPOs increase in 2011/12 to 781, with proportionately more Child Protection Orders continuing to be granted for very young children, especially newborn babies.”
You can view our full set of Official Statistics, which includes the Official Statistics 2011/12, a full statistical analysis, a breakdown by Local Authority area and a Statistical Dashboard here.
