Quarterly child protection statistics

1. Children on the child protection register

At 30 June 2022, 2,283 children were on the child protection register in Northern Ireland, an increase of 5.8% since 30 June 2021 (Figure 1). Table 1 sets out the children on the child protection register by age group and Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust at 30 June 2022 and Table 2 shows the trend by HSC Trust between 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022.

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 30 June 2022 are set out in Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5 respectively.

Figure 1: Children on the child protection register at quarter end (March 2010 to June 2022)

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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 30 June 2022

HSC Trust	Under 1 year	1 to 4 years	5 to 11 years	12 to 15 years	16 years and over	Total
Belfast	54	118	121	63	11	367
Northern	50	127	177	105	29	488
South Eastern	27	95	132	74	17	345
Southern	43	137	210	117	25	532
Western	56	142	186	120	47	551
Northern Ireland	230	619	826	479	129	2,283

Table 2: Children on the child protection register by Health and Social Care Trust, quarter ending 30 June 2021 to 30 June 2022

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2a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 30 Jun 21	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 30 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22
Belfast	319	344	350	345	367
Northern	473	482	493	522	488
South Eastern	317	327	330	359	345
Southern	559	589	584	591	532
Western	490	488	515	529	551
Northern Ireland	2,158	2,230	2,272	2,346	2,283

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 30 Jun 21	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 30 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22
Belfast	41.2	44.4	45.2	44.5	47.4
Northern	43.3	44.1	45.1	47.8	44.7
South Eastern	38.8	40.0	40.4	43.9	42.2
Southern	56.2	59.2	58.7	59.4	53.5
Western	67.0	66.7	70.4	72.3	75.3
Northern Ireland	48.9	50.6	51.5	53.2	51.8

Table 3: Children on the child protection register by category of abuse and Health and Social Care Trust at 30 June 2022

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]	18
Neglect and physical abuse	114	88	119	119	18	458
Neglect and sexual abuse	[s]	[s]	19	[s]	10	49
Physical and sexual abuse	[s]	16	[s]	18	[s]	41
Neglect only	128	121	92	124	220	685
Physical abuse only	83	173	62	216	29	563
Sexual abuse only	17	45	10	27	30	129
Emotional abuse only	18	32	39	16	235	340
Total	367	488	345	532	551	2,283

Table 4: Children on the child protection register by duration on the register and Health and Social Care Trust at 30 June 2022

HSC Trust	Under 3 months	3 to 6 months	6 months to 1 year	1 to 2 years	2 years or more	Total
Belfast	87	55	85	77	63	367
Northern	127	86	122	119	34	488
South Eastern	68	66	90	76	45	345
Southern	118	89	150	120	55	532
Western	115	109	133	116	78	551
Northern Ireland	515	405	580	508	275	2,283

Table 5: Children on the child protection register by legal status at 30 June 2022

Legal status	Northern Ireland
Accommodated (article 21)	126
Interim care order (article 57)	67
Care order (article 50 or 59)	19
Deemed care order (paras 11 and 30 of Sch 8)	0
Interim supervision order (article 57)	6
Other legal status	40
No legal status	2,025
Total	2,283

2. Child protection referrals

At 30 June 2022, 320 child protection referrals were received in Northern Ireland; a decrease of 24.7% since 30 June 2021. Table 6a sets out the child protection referrals received by source of referral by HSC Trust at 30 June 2022 and Table 6b shows the number of significant events that led to child protection investigations by HSC Trust at 30 June 2022.

Figure 2: Number of referrals to child protection register received at quarter end (March 2010 to June 2022)

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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 30 June 2022

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Source of referral	Northern Ireland
Police	82
School or EWO	39
Voluntary org	0
GP	[s]
Social services	49
Community nursing	[s]
Relative, neighbour or friend	15
Hospital	13
Self	9
Anonymous	6
Other source of referral	104
Total	320

The trend data on the number of child protection referrals received between 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 by HSC Trust are set out in Tables 7a and 7b, and the number of significant events that led to child protection investigations between 30 Sept 2021 and 30 June 2022 are set out in Table 7c.

Tables 7a and b: Child protection referrals received by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 30 June 2021 to 30 June 2022

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7a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 30 Jun 21	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22
Belfast	50	46	36	42	66
Northern	120	71	116	105	95
South Eastern	103	131	74	61	58
Southern	31	26	29	100	37
Western	121	80	96	83	64
Northern Ireland	425	354	351	391	320

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 30 Jun 21	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22
Belfast	6.5	5.9	4.6	5.4	8.5
Northern	11.0	6.5	10.6	9.6	8.7
South Eastern	12.6	16.0	9.1	7.5	7.1
Southern	3.1	2.6	2.9	10.1	3.7
Western	16.5	10.9	13.1	11.3	8.8
Northern Ireland	9.6	8.0	8.0	8.9	7.3

Table 7c: The number of significant events that subsequently led to child protection investigations by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 30 September 2021 to 30 June 2022

HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22
Belfast	94	125	87	71
Northern	115	145	145	153
South Eastern	38	69	79	70
Southern	205	166	156	170
Western	244	441	351	182
Northern Ireland	696	946	818	646

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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