Quarterly child protection statistics

1. Children on the child protection register

At 30 September 2022, 2,405 children were on the child protection register in Northern Ireland, an increase of 7.8% since 30 September 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 September 2022 and Table 2 shows the trend by HSC Trust between 30 September 2021 and 30 September 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 September 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 September 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 September 2022

HSC Trust	Under 1 year	1 to 4 years	5 to 11 years	12 to 15 years	16 years and over	Total
Belfast	55	121	145	71	15	407
Northern	48	134	198	111	39	530
South Eastern	31	92	128	79	17	347
Southern	49	126	208	118	30	531
Western	50	146	212	138	44	590
Northern Ireland	233	619	891	517	145	2,405

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

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2a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 30 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22	QE 30 Sep 22
Belfast	344	350	345	367	407
Northern	482	493	522	488	530
South Eastern	327	330	359	345	347
Southern	589	584	591	532	531
Western	488	515	529	551	590
Northern Ireland	2,230	2,272	2,346	2,283	2,405

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 30 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22	QE 30 Sep 22
Belfast	44.4	45.2	44.5	47.4	52.5
Northern	44.1	45.1	47.8	44.7	48.5
South Eastern	40.0	40.4	43.9	42.2	42.5
Southern	59.2	58.7	59.4	53.5	53.4
Western	66.7	70.4	72.3	75.3	80.7
Northern Ireland	50.6	51.5	53.2	51.8	54.5

Table 3: Children on the child protection register by category of abuse and Health and Social Care Trust at 30 September 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]	6	[s]	[s]	[s]	19
Neglect and physical abuse	146	93	117	115	19	490
Neglect and sexual abuse	[s]	16	16	[s]	12	52
Physical and sexual abuse	[s]	17	[s]	11	[s]	37
Neglect only	122	137	88	131	241	719
Physical abuse only	95	191	69	211	29	595
Sexual abuse only	13	35	9	39	41	137
Emotional abuse only	24	35	43	15	239	356
Total	407	530	347	531	590	2,405

Table 4: Children on the child protection register by duration on the register and Health and Social Care Trust at 30 September 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	102	77	87	85	56	407
Northern	132	107	140	107	44	530
South Eastern	81	58	84	78	46	347
Southern	124	103	129	122	53	531
Western	125	99	167	122	77	590
Northern Ireland	564	444	607	514	276	2,405

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

Legal status	Northern Ireland
Accommodated (article 21)	130
Interim care order (article 57)	83
Care order (article 50 or 59)	25
Deemed care order (paras 11 and 30 of Sch 8)	0
Interim supervision order (article 57)	6
Other legal status	40
No legal status	2,121
Total	2,405

2. Child protection referrals

At 30 September 2022, 340 child protection referrals were received in Northern Ireland; a decrease of 4% since 30 September 2021. Table 6 sets out the child protection referrals received by source of referral by HSC Trust at 30 September 2022. 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, quarters ending 30 September 2021 to 30 September 2022.

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

Note: [s] indicates figures that have been suppressed to avoid personal disclosure.
Source of referral	Northern Ireland
Police	127
School or EWO	20
Voluntary org	0
GP	[s]
Social services	55
Community nursing	[s]
Relative, neighbour or friend	8
Hospital	20
Self	[s]
Anonymous	10
Other source of referral	90
Total	340

The trend data on the number of child protection referrals received between 30 September 2021 and 30 September 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 September 2022 are set out in Table 7c.

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

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7a Count at QE

Figures at quarter ending (QE).
HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22	QE 30 Sep 22
Belfast	46	36	42	66	38
Northern	71	116	105	95	90
South Eastern	131	74	61	58	69
Southern	26	29	100	37	44
Western	80	96	83	64	99
Northern Ireland	354	351	391	320	340

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

Rate is per 10,000 population aged under 18.
HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22	QE 30 Sep 22
Belfast	5.9	4.6	5.4	8.5	4.9
Northern	6.5	10.6	9.6	8.7	8.2
South Eastern	16.0	9.1	7.5	7.1	8.4
Southern	2.6	2.9	10.1	3.7	4.4
Western	10.9	13.1	11.3	8.8	13.5
Northern Ireland	8.0	8.0	8.9	7.3	7.7

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 September 2022

HSC Trust	QE 30 Sept 21	QE 31 Dec 21	QE 31 Mar 22	QE 30 Jun 22	QE 30 Sep 22
Belfast	94	125	87	71	95
Northern	115	145	145	153	141
South Eastern	38	69	79	70	78
Southern	205	166	156	170	148
Western	244	441	351	182	197
Northern Ireland	696	946	818	646	659

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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