Publication of ‘Quarterly Child Protection Statistics for Northern Ireland (October – December 2015)’
Date published:
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has today published the ‘Quarterly Child Protection Statistics for Northern Ireland (October – December 2015)’.
Key facts and figures:
Child Protection Register
- At 31 December 2015, 2,098 children were listed on the Child Protection Register in Northern Ireland. This represented a 2% decrease on the previous quarter;
- Taking account of local demographics, register counts per 10,000 children’s population (under 18), ranged from 37.1 in the Western HSC Trust to 51.9 in the Southern HSC Trust; overall there were 48.4 children per 10,000 on the register;
- Four out of five (80%) children were on the register due to physical abuse, neglect or a combination of physical abuse and neglect;
- Some 68% of children on the Child Protection Register at 31 December 2015 had been on the register for less than one year with 1% of children on the register for three years or longer;
Child Protection Referrals
- HSC Trusts received 992 child protection referrals for the quarter ending 31 December 2015. This was 2% lower than the previous quarter, however 9% below the number of referrals for the same quarter in 2014;
- The largest proportion of referrals, 46%, originated from within Social Services, followed by the PSNI with 14%.
Notes to editors:
- This information was collated by Community Information Branch within the DHSSPS.
- This bulletin is the twenty second quarterly reporting of Children Order Child Protection and Referral Statistics.
- Statistics detailed within the bulletin include numbers of children on the Child Protection Register at 31 December 2015, by legal status, age, category of abuse and duration on the Register, and numbers of Child Protection Referrals by source of referral during the third quarter of 2015/16. Trend analyses are presented regionally and by HSC Trusts.
- Statistics for the quarter ending 31 March 2016 are due for publication in May 2016.
- This publication is available online.
- Further information is available from:
Community Information Branch
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Room 11, Annexe 2,
Castle Buildings,
Stormont Belfast BT4 3SP
Tel: (028) 90 520599
Fax: (028) 90 523288
Email: cib@dhsspsni.gov.uk
Internet: Department of Health - Media queries to DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0505, or out of office hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5540 and your call will be returned. Follow us on twitter @healthdpt