26 July 2019

Official Statistics published

The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published the official statistics of children and young people in Scotland who were referred to the Children's Reporter in 2018/19.

The figures show that 12,869 children and young people were referred to the Reporter, 10,881 (84.6 per cent) on non-offence (care and protection) grounds and 2,824 on offence grounds. 836 children and young people had referrals on both grounds. The total figure referred to the Reporter accounts for 1.4% of all children and young people in Scotland.

Lack of parental care is the most common reason for a child or young person to be referred and this most commonly happens to children under the age of one. The most common ages for children and young people to be referred to the Reporter continue to be 14 and 15 years. This has historically been the case for both care and protection and offence grounds but this year, for care and protection grounds, 13 and 14 are the most common ages.

The full set of statistics includes:

  • Online Statistics 2018/19
  • Statistical Analysis 2018/19
  • Online Statistics by Local Authority Breakdown 2018/19