| The alarming trend, revealed in a report published today, contrasts with the Scotland-wide picture which saw a fall in the number of children referred for the second year running.
The biggest rise was in Fife, from 3068 children in 2007/08 to 3752 last year, while there were smaller increases in Angus, from 494 children to 506, and Perth and Kinross, from 309 to 314.
In Dundee, where child protection has been the subject of much public scrutiny in recent months, the number of young people subject to a Children’s Panel referral fell markedly, from 754 to 647. Across Scotland the number of children referred in 2008/09 was 47,178, compared to 50,314 in 2007/08. Despite the reduction, that is still 5.2% of the Scottish child population.
Children’s minister Adam Ingram said, “Ending the cycles of disadvantage that can hold back young people is a key priority for this government so it’s very encouraging the number referred to hearings on offence grounds has dropped to a six-year low — down almost 3000 from last year.
“The increase in supervision requirements and child protection orders also shows that panels are getting support to young people who need it.”
Some 5219 young people on either side of the Tay found themselves the subject of a panel referral during 2008/09, up from 4625 the previous year. Total referrals were up 8% over the same period.
Total referrals in Dundee were down from 1667 to 1418. Most of the referrals came from the police and social workers, with smaller numbers from the education department, the courts and relatives of the children concerned.
Almost two-thirds of the cases were on offence grounds.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration annual report revealed that 43 children in the city were referred before their first birthday, including 31 cases raised by social workers.
The report also stated that there were a total of 1502 children’s hearings held. Outcomes included 33 children receiving child protection orders and 174 place of safety warrants being granted.
Over the course of the year 135 supervision requirements were made and 172 terminated. As at March 31, 504 supervision requirements — the most common form of compulsory intervention — were in place in the city. |
