Quarterly child protection statistics

1. Children on the child protection register

At 31 December 2023, 2,310, 2,310 children were on the child protection register in Northern Ireland, an increase, an increase of 3.8, 3.8% since 31 December 2022 (Figure 1). Table 1 sets out the children on the child protection register by age group and Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust at 31 December 2023 and Table 2 shows the trend by HSC Trust between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023.

The number of children on the child protection register by category of abuse, length of time on the register, and legal status by HSC Trust at 31 December 2023 are set out in Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5 respectively. Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

Figure 1: Children on the child protection register at quarter end (March 2010 to December 2023)

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Between 31 March 2010 and 30 June 2014 there was a general decrease in the number of children on the child protection register, followed by a gradual increase in figures until 31 December 2018. Since then, the number of children on the child protection register in Northern Ireland has remained relatively stable.

Table 1: Children on the child protection register by age and Health and Social Care Trust at 31 December 2023

Note: Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

HSC Trust	Under 1 year	1 to 4 years	5 to 11 years	12 to 15 years	16 years and over	Total
Belfast	48	115	166	68	17	414
Northern	48	110	192	94	19	463
South Eastern	21	79	149	85	23	357
Southern	44	109	217	134	36	540
Western	38	120	190	139	49	536
Northern Ireland	199	533	914	520	144	2,310

Table 2: Children on the child protection register by Health and Social Care Trust, quarter ending 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2023

Note: Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

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2a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 31 Dec 22	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23
Belfast	401	395	391	402	414
Northern	471	464	457	494	463
South Eastern	321	312	301	326	357
Southern	499	492	537	534	540
Western	534	508	450	489	536
Northern Ireland	2,226	2,171	2,136	2,245	2,310

2b Rate (per 10,000 population under 18) at QE

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 31 Dec 22	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23
Belfast	51.7	51.0	50.4	51.9	53.4
Northern	43.1	42.5	41.8	45.2	42.4
South Eastern	39.3	38.2	36.8	39.9	43.7
Southern	50.2	49.5	54.0	53.7	54.3
Western	73.0	69.5	61.5	66.9	73.3
Northern Ireland	50.5	49.2	48.4	50.9	52.4

Table 3: Children on the child protection register by category of abuse and Health and Social Care Trust at 31 December 2023

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Category of abuse	Belfast	Northern	South Eastern	Southern	Western	Northern Ireland
Neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse	[s]	[s]	[s]	[s]	[s]	15
Neglect and physical abuse	143	90	125	157	15	530
Neglect and sexual abuse	7	[s]	[s]	[s]	32	56
Physical and sexual abuse	[s]	21	5	15	[s]	49
Neglect only	139	138	80	128	325	810
Physical abuse only	100	154	92	170	18	534
Sexual abuse only	5	25	21	40	23	114
Emotional abuse only	14	27	28	20	113	202
Total	414	463	357	540	536	2,310

Table 4: Children on the child protection register by duration on the register and Health and Social Care Trust at 31 December 2023

HSC Trust	Under 3 months	3 to 6 months	6 months to 1 year	1 to 2 years	2 years or more	Total
Belfast	96	74	132	80	32	414
Northern	122	88	103	107	43	463
South Eastern	91	87	95	54	30	357
Southern	139	89	173	108	31	540
Western	143	111	114	113	55	536
Northern Ireland	591	449	617	462	191	2,310

Table 5: Children on the child protection register by legal status at 31 December 2023

Note: Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Legal status	Northern Ireland
Accommodated (article 21)	108
Interim care order (article 57)	45
Care order (article 50 or 59)	11
Deemed care order (paras 11 and 30 of Sch 8)	0
Interim supervision order (article 57)	12
Other legal status	41
No legal status	2,093
Total	2,310

2. Child protection referrals

At 31 December 2023, 472, 362 child protection referrals were received in Northern Ireland; an increase, an increase of 54.2, 18.3% since 31 December 2022. Table 6 sets out the child protection referrals received by source of referral by HSC Trust at 31 December 2023 and Table 7a and 7b show the number and rate of child protection referrals and Table 7c shows the number of significant events that led to child protection investigations by HSC Trust from quarter ending 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2023. Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

Figure 2: Number of referrals to child protection register received at quarter end (March 2010 to December 2023)

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Leading up to 2020, a change in reporting methodology of child protection referrals has meant referrals for children already on the social work caseload are now coded as Significant Event rather than a child protection referral. This has resulted in a series change with a sharp reduction in child protection referrals. The updated reporting methodology has been applied to HSC Trust IT systems at different times; therefore, there is no exact timestamp on the change in series.

Table 6: Child protection referrals by source of referral quarter ending 31 December 2023

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Source of referral	Northern Ireland
Police	108
School or EWO	68
Voluntary org	0
GP	7
Social services	59
Community nursing	0
Relative, neighbour or friend	5
Hospital	10
Self	[s]
Anonymous	[s]
Other source of referral	102
Total	362

The trend data on the number of child protection referrals received between 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023 by HSC Trust are set out in Tables 7a and 7b, and the number of significant events that led to child protection investigations between 31 Dec 2022 and 31 December 2023 are set out in Table 7c.

Tables 7a and b: Child protection referrals received by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2023

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7a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 31 Dec 22	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23
Belfast	48	45	40	34	34
Northern	69	123	85	75	124
South Eastern	57	39	61	50	59
Southern	43	62	44	53	69
Western	89	130	118	69	76
Northern Ireland	306	399	348	281	362

7b Rate (per 10,000 population under 18) at QE

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 31 Dec 22	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23
Belfast	6.2	5.8	5.2	4.4	4.4
Northern	6.3	11.3	7.8	6.9	11.3
South Eastern	7.0	4.8	7.5	6.1	7.2
Southern	4.3	6.2	4.4	5.3	6.9
Western	12.2	17.8	16.1	9.4	10.4
Northern Ireland	6.9	9.0	7.9	6.4	8.2

Table 7c: The number of significant events that subsequently led to child protection investigations by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2023

Note: Southern HSC Trust data for quarter ending December 2023 was revised in February 2024.

HSC Trust	QE 31 Dec 22	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23
Belfast	96	108	93	107	101
Northern	108	111	129	131	117
South Eastern	52	75	83	88	96
Southern	178	175	214	167	179
Western	120	130	131	146	190
Northern Ireland	554	599	650	639	683

3. Download data

The data presented in the figures and tables within this publication can be downloaded in excel format by clicking the button below.

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Quarterly data: 33KB

Metadata

The statistics presented in these tables derive from children order returns CPR2, CPR3, CPR4 and CPR5 provided by each of the five Health and Social Care Trusts (HSC) in Northern Ireland to the SPPG (Strategic Planning and Performance Group) as well as Community Information Branch within the Department of Health. These returns are part of a wider set of annual Children Order returns which together provide statistical activity counts relating to child protection, children in need, looked after children, and children’s day care. The wider set of returns are used to produce the annual publication Children’s social care statistics in Northern Ireland, which records children’s social care data at 31 March and for year ending 31 March. A technical annex and definitions used in these tables can be found in the above publication.

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