Childrens Looked After Statistics 2024 ECSPB

Renfrewshire Council · 15 May 2025
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 15 May 2025 and its agenda

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To:  Education and Children Policy Board
On: 15 May 2025
___________________________________________________________________ 
Report by:  Director of Children’s Services
___________________________________________________________________ 
Heading:  Children’s Looked After Statistics - 2024
___________________________________________________________________
1. Summary
1.1. The Scottish Government requires local authorities to report the number of
children who are looked after on an annual basis.  The information is gathered
during a census conducted on 31 July each year, passed to the Scottish
Government who analyse the information and produce an annual report on
the national data.  The annual report is generally published in March of April
of the following year.  The Scottish Government report on the annual census
for 2024 was published on 22 April 2024.  
1.2. The 2024 annual report and data tables can be accessed via this link
Children’s Social Work Statistics: Looked After Children 2023/24 - gov.scot
1.3. This report contains information on the number of looked after children on 31
July 2024 at a national and Renfrewshire level. 
1.4. On 31 July 2024 there were 11,844 looked after children in Scotland, a 2%
reduction from the previous year.  The number of looked after children in
Renfrewshire on 31 July 2024 was 610 compared to 640 on 31 July 2023. 
This represented a decrease of 4.7% from the previous year.  
1.5. At the 2024 census, Renfrewshire continued to have the 6th highest number of
looked after children in Scotland.  The Renfrewshire profile shows a higher
percentage of our looked after children are in kinship care arrangements and
at home with their parents compared to the national figure.
1.6. Children’s social work has initiated work with the Scottish Children’s
Reporters Administration to understand the reasons behind Renfrewshire’s
high number of children looked after at home.  The service will work with

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partners to reduce the number of looked after children by 50% over the next
three years.
______________________________________________________________ 
2. Recommendations
2.1. Members are asked to:
[a] note the information in this report on the number of looked after children in
Scotland and Renfrewshire on 31 July 2024,
[b] note the work being progressed with the Scottish Children’s Reporters
Administration to understand the reason for Renfrewshire’s high number of
children looked after at home, and
[c] note the target to reduce the number of children looked after at home by
50% over the next three years. 
3. Background 
3.1. On 31 July each year, local authorities complete a census for the Scottish
Government in relation to the number of children who are looked after.  Whilst
the census is conducted in July the report on the data is generally not available
until the following March or April.  The 2024 data report from the Scottish
Government was published on 22 April 2025.
3.2. It should be noted that social work in Renfrewshire operates under the
principles of minimum necessary intervention and “no-order”.  This means that
a significant number of children and families being supported by social work
aren’t reported in national statistics.  
3.3. The minimum necessary intervention principle requires social work to provide
support and intervention at the right level at the right time to allow children and
families to move out of the system quickly when challenges are addressed and
resolved.  The “no-order” principle means that a children’s hearing or court
should only impose a compulsory order on a child where it is better for the
child to do so than not have the order in place.  
Looked after children - Scotland
3.4. On 31 July 2024 there were 11,844 looked after children in Scotland, a
reduction of 2% from the 2023 census.  The trend over the past 10 years has
been a reducing number of looked children after children across Scotland.  At
the census in 2014 the number of looked after children in Scotland was
15,580.  Over the ten-year period there has been a reduction of 24% in the
number of looked after children in Scotland.
3.5. At the 2024 census just over 54% of Scotland’s looked after children were in
the care of their own parents or birth family through a kinship care
arrangement.  The breakdown of that figure is those cared for at home 19.5%

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and 34.5% cared for by kinship carers.  Nationally the percentage of children in
foster care is 32%.  The breakdown for foster care is 21.6% of looked after
children in foster care provided by the local authority and 9.5% in foster care in
the independent sector.  Just over 11% of Scotland’s looked after children are
in residential care.  
3.6. The number of looked after at home with their own parents has reduced by
44% compared to the 2014 position.  The number of children looked after in
kinship care arrangements has decreased by approximately 2% in the same
period.  
3.7. The reduction in children placed with foster carers from the 2014 position to
2024 is just under 32%.  The reduction in foster care provided directly by local
authorities (down 36%) was greater than the reduction in that provided by the
independent sector (down 26%).  The number of children in residential care fell
by almost 10% from 2014 to 2024.  Residential provision provided by local
authorities reduced by almost 13% in the ten-year period compared with a
reduction of almost 7.5% in the independent sector.
3.8. Appendix 1 shows where Scotland’s looked after children live by care
placement type at the census point on 31 July 2024.
Looked after children - Renfrewshire
3.9. 610 children were looked after by Renfrewshire on 31 July 2024.  This was a
reduction of 30 children from the previous census on 31 July 2023 when there
were 640 looked after children in Renfrewshire.  This was a reduction of 4.7%
from the previous year which was higher than the national reduction of 2%
3.10. Renfrewshire has seen a reduction of 14.5% in the number of looked after
children from the census in 2014 (713) to the census in 2024 (610).
3.11. At the 2024 census Renfrewshire had the 6th highest number of looked after
children in Scotland.  In 2014, Renfrewshire had the 4th highest number of
looked after children in Scotland.  As the 9th largest local authority in Scotland,
we should aim to reduce the number of looked after children when it is safe
and appropriate to do so to bring us into that overall national position.
3.12. In the 2024 census 68% of Renfrewshire’s looked after children were in the
care of their own parents or birth family through a kinship care arrangement,
significantly higher than the Scottish national figure.  Just over 25% of
Renfrewshire looked after children on 31 July 2024 were cared for at home
with their parent(s).  This is a higher proportion than the Scottish position. 
Almost 43% of Renfrewshire’s looked after children are cared for in a kinship
arrangement.  This is the highest looked after group in Renfrewshire and again
a significantly higher percentage than the national figure.  
3.13. Looked after children placed with a Renfrewshire foster carers account for
18.7% of our looked after population.  Just under 4% of Renfrewshire’s looked
after children are placed in external foster care.  This means that just over 22%
of Renfrewshire’s looked after children are in foster care compared to 32% of

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the looked after population at a national level.  Renfrewshire has a lower use
of external foster care than the Scottish percentage (4% compared to 10%). 
Our low use of foster care is balanced by a higher use of kinship care.  This is
seen as good practice in ensuring children remain with a member of their birth
family if they can’t be cared for by their own parents.
3.14. Just over 4% of Renfrewshire’s looked after children are in external residential
provision with 3% in our internal houses.  This give a total of 7% of
Renfrewshire’s looked after children being in residential care compared to 11%
at a national level.
3.15. The number of looked after children in Renfrewshire cared for at home by their
parents on 31 July 2024 has reduced by just over 33% compared to the 2014
census.  Over the same period the number of children looked after in kinship
care has increased by 45%.
3.16. The 2024 census shows there were12% fewer children looked after in internal
foster care compared to the 2014 census.  There was almost 79% fewer
looked after children in external foster care at the 2024 census compared with
the 2014 census.  This is a positive impact of Renfrewshire’s strategy to
support children in their own birth family but also the support we offer to our
internal foster carers.
3.17. Renfrewshire made changes to our internal residential provision in 2020 with
the closure of two of the children’s houses.  The closure of one children’s
house had been planned and the other was in relation to the initial response to
the COVID-19 pandemic and addressed significant excess capacity in our
provision at that time.  In 2020 Renfrewshire had 6 children’s houses which
provided accommodation for 48 children.  We presently operate 4 children’s
houses which provide accommodation for 22 children or young people.  The
internal children’s houses encourage young people to remain in continuing
care and as a result they were fully occupied in 2024.
3.18. The total number of looked after children in residential provision has reduced
by 27% from the census in 2014 to the census in 2024.  The balance of
provision has changed from most placements in 2014 being internal residential
provision to most placements in 2024 being in external residential provision.
3.19. Appendix 2 shows the breakdown of where Renfrewshire’s looked after
children live by care placement type for each of the census points from 2014 to
2024.
Implications of this report 
1.  Financial Implications 
The current number of children looked after in external residential provision
continues to be higher than the service is comfortable with.  The service is
working to ensure that children’s needs are met by placements and where
possible they can return to Renfrewshire to mitigate demand on budgets.

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2.  HR and Organisational Development Implications 
None 
3. Community Plan/Council Plan Implications 
Community Care, Health
and Well-being
-  Children and families are supported to
address the challenges they face. 
Safer and Stronger -  Children and families receive the right
support to ensure they are safe at home
and in the community. 
4.  Legal Implications 
The authority works within the legal framework to discharge its duties to
looked after children and those involved in the child protection system. 
5.  Property/Assets Implications 
None. 
6.  Information Technology Implications 
None. 
7.  Equality and Human Rights Implications 
The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in
relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts
on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights
have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the
report because it is for noting only. 
8. Health and Safety Implications
None. 
9. Procurement Implications
None. 
10. Risk Implications
None. 
11. Privacy Impact
None. 
12. COSLA Policy Position
None. 
13. 
14.
Climate Risk
None. 
Children’s Rights
This report demonstrates compliance with Article 3 (best interest of child),
Article 9 (keeping families together), Article 12 (respect for children’s views)
and 25 (review of a child’s placement) of the United Nations Convention on

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the Rights of the Child. 
List of Background Papers
None
___________________________________________________________________ 
Children’s Services
JCTLG
12 August 2024
Author: John Trainer, Head of Children and Justice/Chief Social Work
Officer 
0300 300 0277 
john.trainer@renfrewshire.gov.uk