How many recorded cases of child abuse and neglect there have been in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government recognises that the nature of child abuse and neglect is such that they are often hidden, which means that it is difficult to estimate figures relating to abuse and neglect for those children in Scotland who are never involved with services who might be able to help support them and their families. Therefore, the figures that refer to neglect and abuse must be understood in that context.
The Scottish Government publishes annual Children's Social Work Statistics. This is information collected from local authorities and secure units on children and young people, generally younger than their mid-twenties, who were formally looked after, under child protection measures, or in secure care at some point between August and July of each year. The most recent publication was published on March 27, 2018, and you can find the latest statistics here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/03/6242/0 .
It is important to clarify that the child protection data collected from 2012 onwards should not be compared to previous years' data on the category of abuse/risk. The reason for this is that the categories of abuse used prior to 2012 related to the main category of abuse/risk for registrations on the child protection register. Subsequently the data gathered was concerns identified at the case conferences of children who were on the child protection register. Since 2012, multiple concerns can be recorded at each case conference (rather than just the main category of abuse). This means that the total number of concerns is larger than the total number of registrations, and that figures on concerns identified from 2012 onwards are not comparable to previous data on category of abuse/risk.
I attach two tables. The first, Table A, is a collated table of concerns identified at case conferences from 2012 -2017, containing details of the concerns raised including neglect, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. It is worth noting that other concerns included on the table may also indicate that a child could be subject to neglect, but this might not be formally recorded as a separate concern at a case conference. The second, Table B, is the number of registrations to child protection registers following an initial or pre-birth case conference.
Table A
Concerns identified at case
conferences

2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
% change
2016
- 2017
% of children registered at 31 July 2017

Emotional abuse
1,020
1,024
1,114
1,087
963
1,002
4%
38%
Parental substance misuse
892
981
1,132
990
1,056
997
-6%
38%
- Drug misuse
567
659
702
670
711
692
-3%
26%
- Alcohol misuse
502
524
639
500
531
474
-11%
18%
Domestic Abuse
735
886
1,068
968
1,052
969
-8%
37%
Neglect
993
1,030
1,009
1,015
943
951
1%
36%
Parental Mental Health Problems
501
598
734
623
710
789
11%
30%
Physical Abuse
467
539
671
616
543
484
-11%
18%
Non-engaging family
451
547
623
653
566
626
11%
24%
Sexual abuse
233
210
217
251
166
195
17%
7%
Child Placing themselves at risk
43
56
60
37
44
58
32%
2%
Child Exploitation
7
13
13
37
6
0
-100%
0%
Child sexual exploitation
-
-
-
-
12
52
333%
2%
Other concerns
280
283
433
309
336
287
-15%
11%
Total concerns
5,622
6,167
7,074
6,586
6,397
6,410
0%
(1) The data from 2012 onwards should not be compared to previous years’ data on category of abuse/risk. The Scottish Government published revised National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland in December 2010 which expanded the categories for abuse/concerns identified at case conferences. As a result, many of the updated categories may have been included in other categories previously or would not have been counted as they have no equivalent in previous years.
(2) the child sexual exploitation category was introduced in 2016.
(3) From 2016, Other concerns includes a small number of children in the new catego