Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) Official Statistics 2025/2026
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published official statistics setting out the numbers of children involved in the Children’s Hearings System in Scotland between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.
16,589 children were referred to the Children’s Reporter during this period, which is 1% of all children and young people in Scotland. This is a decrease of 9.7% on the previous year, with slightly more boys than girls referred. The most common ground at point of referral is ‘lack of parental care’, with 2,732 children in this category. Overall, 14 years is the most common age for referral, with 1,340 children referred at this age.
Of the 464 children for whom a Child Protection Order was taken over this period, a high number were for infants, reflecting their vulnerability and the need to take immediate action to protect very young children (including newborns).
2,236 children aged between 12 and 17 years of age were referred to the Reporter on offence grounds, with the most common types of alleged offences being shoplifting, threatening or abusive behaviour and assault.
Of the 21,369 Children’s Hearings held (up 0.3%), more than half were to review a Compulsory Supervision Order.