Quarterly child protection statistics

1. Children on the child protection register

At 31 March 2024, 2,334 children were on the child protection register in Northern Ireland, an increase of 7.5% since 31 March 2023 (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 March 2024 and Table 2 shows the trend by HSC Trust between 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2024.

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 March 2024 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 March 2024)

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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 March 2024

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	45	113	163	72	17	410
Northern	51	129	204	91	27	502
South Eastern	24	89	170	67	21	371
Southern	47	96	216	116	33	508
Western	39	111	209	140	44	543
Northern Ireland	206	538	962	486	142	2,334

Table 2: Children on the child protection register by Health and Social Care Trust, quarter ending 31 March 2023 to 31 March 2024

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 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23	QE 31 Mar 24
Belfast	395	391	402	414	410
Northern	464	457	494	463	502
South Eastern	312	301	326	357	371
Southern	492	537	534	540	508
Western	508	450	489	536	543
Northern Ireland	2,171	2,136	2,245	2,310	2,334

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23	QE 31 Mar 24
Belfast	51.0	50.4	51.9	53.4	54.1
Northern	42.5	41.8	45.2	42.4	46.7
South Eastern	38.2	36.8	39.9	43.7	45.3
Southern	49.5	54.0	53.7	54.3	51.7
Western	69.5	61.5	66.9	73.3	75.9
Northern Ireland	49.2	48.4	50.9	52.4	53.6

Table 3: Children on the child protection register by category of abuse and Health and Social Care Trust at 31 March 2024

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]	7	[s]	[s]	[s]	17
Neglect and physical abuse	152	123	103	137	25	540
Neglect and sexual abuse	7	5	14	7	38	71
Physical and sexual abuse	[s]	18	[s]	[s]	[s]	43
Neglect only	122	139	97	118	327	803
Physical abuse only	99	146	103	177	11	536
Sexual abuse only	6	33	15	34	33	121
Emotional abuse only	18	31	32	20	102	203
Total	410	502	371	508	543	2,334

Table 4: Children on the child protection register by duration on the register and Health and Social Care Trust at 31 March 2024

HSC Trust	Under 3 months	3 to 6 months	6 months to 1 year	1 to 2 years	2 years or more	Total
Belfast	79	84	113	107	27	410
Northern	145	106	103	96	52	502
South Eastern	102	78	110	55	26	371
Southern	105	106	154	98	45	508
Western	116	122	132	118	55	543
Northern Ireland	547	496	612	474	205	2,334

Table 5: Children on the child protection register by legal status at 31 March 2024

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)	129
Interim care order (article 57)	57
Care order (article 50 or 59)	14
Deemed care order (paras 11 and 30 of Sch 8)	0
Interim supervision order (article 57)	9
Other legal status	60
No legal status	2,065
Total	2,334

2. Child protection referrals

At 31 March 2024, 418 child protection referrals were received in Northern Ireland; an increase of 4.8% since 31 March 2023. Table 6 sets out the child protection referrals received by source of referral by HSC Trust at 31 March 2024 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 March 2023 to 31 March 2024. 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 March 2024)

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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 March 2024

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Source of referral	Northern Ireland
Police	112
School or EWO	73
Voluntary org	[s]
GP	13
Social services	64
Community nursing	[s]
Relative, neighbour or friend	8
Hospital	11
Self	[s]
Anonymous	11
Other source of referral	120
Total	418

The trend data on the number of child protection referrals received between 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2024 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 Mar 2023 and 31 March 2024 are set out in Table 7c.

Tables 7a and b: Child protection referrals received by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 31 March 2023 to 31 March 2024

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7a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23	QE 31 Mar 24
Belfast	45	40	34	34	57
Northern	123	85	75	124	102
South Eastern	39	61	50	59	64
Southern	62	44	53	69	70
Western	130	118	69	76	125
Northern Ireland	399	348	281	362	418

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23	QE 31 Mar 24
Belfast	5.8	5.2	4.4	4.4	7.5
Northern	11.3	7.8	6.9	11.3	9.5
South Eastern	4.8	7.5	6.1	7.2	7.8
Southern	6.2	4.4	5.3	6.9	7.1
Western	17.8	16.1	9.4	10.4	17.5
Northern Ireland	9.0	7.9	6.4	8.2	9.6

Table 7c: The number of significant events that subsequently led to child protection investigations by Health and Social Care Trust quarter ending 31 March 2023 to 31 March 2024

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

HSC Trust	QE 31 Mar 23	QE 30 Jun 23	QE 30 Sep 23	QE 31 Dec 23	QE 31 Mar 24
Belfast	108	93	107	101	65
Northern	111	129	131	117	184
South Eastern	75	83	88	96	88
Southern	175	214	167	179	170
Western	130	131	146	190	148
Northern Ireland	599	650	639	683	655

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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