AQW 14943/22-27
Mr Daniel McCrossan
Social Democratic and Labour Party
West Tyrone
Tabled Date: 12/09/2024
Answered On Date: 27/09/2024
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail why the number of children and young people in care continuously for 12 months or longer is 46 per cent higher than ten years ago.
Answer:
The number of children continuously in care for 12 months or longer has increased from 2,071 at the end of September 2013 to 3,024 at the end of September 2023, an increase of 46%. The total number of children in care has also risen, from 2,807 at the end of March 2013 to 3,801 at the end of March 2023, an increase of 35%. This increase can be attributed to a number of factors. More children are being admitted to care than are being discharged. In 2013, 995 children were admitted to care and 850 children were discharged. This means that for every one child discharged from care, 1.17 children were admitted. That gap has widened. In 2023, 980 children were admitted to care and 748 children were discharged, meaning that for every one child discharged, 1.31 children were admitted. Children are also spending longer in care. In 2013, 35% of children discharged from care had been in care for less than three months. By 2023, only 14% of those discharged had been in care for less than three months. In 2023, 25% of children discharged from care had been in care for five years or more—up from 18% in 2013. Research has pointed to an enhanced awareness of child protection issues over recent years as one factor underpinning decisions to protect children who are potentially at risk by bringing them into care. There is also an established link between increasing levels of child poverty and the numbers of children in care. Children from the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland make up the highest proportion of children in care for 12 months or more (43%), compared to just 5% of children from the least deprived areas. Children in care can have a range of additional and often complex needs, and one fifth of the children in care for 12 months or longer at 30 September 2023 had a disability. Practitioners describe growing complexity of need among children and young people over the last number of years, with families often struggling to meet those needs at home. The report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services, published in June 2023, highlighted the impact of poverty and social deprivation on families, and was clear about the need for more support for families, to help them care for their children. My Department has established a programme of reform which is leading on the implementation of a number of the Review’s recommendations, including improving support for families and services for children with disabilities.
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