Regional and local authority totals
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Number of serious incident notifications for each reporting year, by local authority and region.
PLEASE NOTE: Neither high nor low numbers of serious incident notifications alone should be interpreted as a performance measure of the local authority or its workforce. When interpreting data on serious incident notifications, local authority contextual information is an important consideration. Local authorities with larger populations tend to be more likely to report more serious incident notifications than those with smaller populations. Those with higher levels of deprivation also tend to be more likely to report higher rates of serious incident notifications than those with lower levels of deprivation. In addition, whilst reporting has improved in recent years, the Department is aware that, in some instances, not all incidents that meet the definition for a serious incident are notified. Data relating to population size, the number of children in need and deprivation have been included to provide further contextual information to the data on serious incident notifications.
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Data set details
- Theme
- Children's social care
- Publication
- Serious incident notifications
- Release
- Reporting year 2024
- Release type
- Geographic levels
- Local authority, National, Regional
- Indicators
- Number of serious incident notifications
- Number of children in need at 31 March
- IDACI average score in 2019
- Time period
- 2019 to 2024
Data set preview
| time_period | time_identifier | geographic_level | country_code | country_name | region_code | region_name | old_la_code | new_la_code | la_name | number_notifications | cin_31march | idaci_avgscore_2019 | ons_midyear_population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | 405 | 403090 | x | 11886910 | |||||
| 2024 | Reporting year | Regional | E92000001 | England | E12000001 | North East | 20 | 24530 | x | 531250 | |||
| 2024 | Reporting year | Regional | E92000001 | England | E12000002 | North West | 70 | 60410 | x | 1582230 | |||
| 2024 | Reporting year | Regional | E92000001 | England | E12000003 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 40 | 40100 | x | 1157050 | |||
| 2024 | Reporting year | Regional | E92000001 | England | E12000004 | East Midlands | 30 | 28900 | x | 1004080 |
Variables in this data set
| Variable name | Variable description |
|---|---|
| cin_31march | Number of children in need at 31 March |
| idaci_avgscore_2019 | IDACI average score in 2019 |
| number_notifications | Number of serious incident notifications |
| ons_midyear_population | ONS mid-year population estimates |
Footnotes
- The source of the data on serious incident notifications is the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification System. The statistics show the number of incidents notified in the period, rather than the number of incidents that occurred in the period and are based on one notification per incident, which can relate to more than one child in some instances. The local authority should notify the Child Safeguarding Practice review panel within 5 working days of becoming aware that the incident has occurred. However, in some cases, there can be delays in notifications being submitted. When interpreting data on serious incident notifications, local authority contextual information is an important consideration. Local authorities with larger populations tend to be more likely to report more serious incident notifications than those with smaller populations. Those with higher levels of deprivation also tend to be more likely to report higher rates of serious incident notifications than those with lower levels of deprivation. In addition, whilst reporting has improved in recent years, the Department is aware that, in some instances, not all incidents that meet the definition for a serious incident are notified. For these reasons, neither high nor low numbers of serious incident notifications alone should be interpreted as a performance measure of the local authority or its workforce. 'c' has been used where applicable to protect confidentiality. Regional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
- The source of the data for the children in need at 31 March figures is the Children in Need statistics release. These figures have been added to provide further contextual information to the data on serious incident notifications. 2021 and 2022 data for Hackney are not available, but 2020 data has been included in the 2021 and 2022 national total and regional totals for Inner London and London. As 2024 children in need data were not available at the time of publication, the serious incident notification figures for 2024 show the latest (at the time) 2023 children in need data alongside. National and regional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
- The source of the data for the IDACI average score figures is the English indices of deprivation 2019. These figures have been added to provide further contextual information to the data on serious incident notifications. The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families. The average score for a given LA is calculated by taking the (population weighted) average of the combined scores for the LSOAs (Lower Super Output Areas) under that particular LA. The values range from 0.032 to 0.327, with a higher score indicating that the LA is more deprived according to this measure.
- Mid-year ONS population estimates are based on children aged 0 to 17 years in England. These figures have been added to provide further contextual information to the data on serious incident notifications. As 2023 mid-year ONS population estimates were not available at the time of publication, the serious incident notification figures for 2024 show the latest (at the time) 2022 mid-year ONS population estimates alongside. National and regional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
- The unitary authority Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole was formed on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the previous unitary authorities Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch. As a result, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole data is provided for 2020 onwards but data for Bournemouth and data for Poole is provided for 2019 only. The non-metropolitan districts of Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck and East Dorset combined with Dorset County Council to form Dorset Council on 1 April 2019. As a result, there is one data entry for Dorset for 2019 and another separate entry for Dorset for 2020 onwards. On 1 April 2021, the unitary authorities North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire were formed, replacing Northamptonshire County Council. However, data is provided under the former Northamptonshire basis in 2022 and 2023, in addition to being provided for earlier years, but is provided under the new North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire basis in 2024. On 1 April 2023, the unitary authority Cumberland and the unitary authority Westmorland and Furness were formed, replacing Cumbria County Council. As a result, data for Cumberland and data for Westmorland and Furness is provided from 2024 onwards, with data for Cumbria provided prior to 2024.
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