Data set from Children looked after in England including adoptions

CLA numbers and rates per 10,000 children aged under 18 years - LA

Not the latest data

Published 16 November 2023

Last updated 16 November 2023

Local authority level data for:

• Children looked after on 31 March
• Children who started to be looked after during the year
• Children who ceased to be looked after during the year

Data includes numbers of looked after children, formerly in tables LAA1, LAC1, LAD1.

Note: Figures for children looked after during the year can be found in the LA dataset on children who have gone missing or who are away from placement without authorisation.

For some local authorities, the figures may be impacted by significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

---

On this page

Data set details

• Theme: Children's social care
• Publication: Children looked after in England including adoptions
• Release: Reporting year 2023
• Geographic levels: Local authority, National, Regional
• Indicators:
  • Number of children looked after
  • Population estimate
  • Rate per 10 000 children aged under 18 years
• Filters:
  • CLA Population count
• Time period: 2019 to 2023

---

Data set preview

Table showing first 5 rows, from underlying data

time_period	time_identifier	geographic_level	country_code	country_name	region_code	region_name	old_la_code	la_name	new_la_code	population_count	population_estimate	number	rate_per_10000
2023	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England						Children ceasing to be looked after each year	11886906	31680	27
2023	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England						Children looked after at 31 March each year	11886906	83840	71
2023	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England						Children starting to be looked after each year	11886906	33000	28
2023	Reporting year	Regional	E92000001	England	E12000001	North East				Children ceasing to be looked after each year	531251	2260	42
2023	Reporting year	Regional	E92000001	England	E12000001	North East				Children looked after at 31 March each year	531251	5980	113

---

Variables in this data set

Table showing all 4 variables

Variable name	Variable description
number	Number of children looked after
population_count	CLA Population count
population_estimate	Population estimate
rate_per_10000	Rate per 10 000 children aged under 18 years

---

Footnotes

1. National and regional numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Rates rounded to the nearest whole number. Historical data may differ from older publications which is mainly due to amendments made by local authorities after the previous publication. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements. 
2. Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in the LA during year has been counted. The care of a small number of children each year is transferred between LAs, in national figures these children will be counted as starting once within each LA. For more information see the methodology document.
3. Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the LA during the year has been counted. The care of a small number of children each year is transferred between LAs, in national figures these children will be counted as ceasing once within each LA. For more information see the methodology document.

---

Using this data

• Download the underlying data as a compressed ZIP file

• View or create your own tables

  View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Download this data using code

Access this data using common programming languages using the URL below.

Example code

---