Statistics Publication Notice: Health and Care Series: Children's Social Work Statistics 2009/10

Main Findings

Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the Children's Social Work Statistics 2009/10. This publication contains the latest statistics in relation to child protection, secure care accommodation and close support care accommodation.

The main findings are:

Child Protection

• In 2009/10, there were 13,523 child protection referrals, an increase of 6% compared with the previous year. ( Table 1, Chart 1)
• The total number of registrations on to child protection registers fell by 2% in 2009/10 (from 3,628 in 2008/09 to 3,551 in 2009/10), whereas the total number de-registrations increased by 9% (from 3,499 in 2008/09 to 3,826 in 2009/10). ( Table 4, Table 6)
• At 31 March 2010, there were 2,518 children on Child Protection Registers, a decrease of 6% compared with the previous year. ( Table 7)

Secure Care and Close Support Care Accommodation

• There was an average of 99 residents in secure accommodation throughout 2009-10, up from 90 in the previous year. ( Table 11)
• The average cost per bed per week of secure care accommodation was £5,220, ranging from £4,990 to £5,420.
• There was an average of 9 residents in close support accommodation throughout 2009-10. ( Table 11)