What work it has done to (a) consider how it connects and shares data with other public protection areas and (b) use data and evidence to s…

Violence against women and girls is a fundamental violation of human rights and has no place in our vision for a safe, strong, successful Scotland.Our Equally Safe Delivery Plan contains a range of actions to build a robust and joined up approach to the prevention of violence against women and girls across all education settings in Scotland. Action 4.3 commits us to consider how we connect and share data with other public protection areas and use data and evidence to support conversations to prevent and reduce harm and to improve outcomes for adult and child victim-survivors of VAWG.Tackling the difficult issues of having the right data for improvement and assurance and risk escalation at local and national level, is a workplan priority for the National Public Protection Leadership Group (NPPLG). A medium-term action for the NPPLG will look at how we progress interconnectedness of strands to inform policy and practice. The work of the Scottish Government Cross-Government Public Protection Team will complement the work of the NPPLG and support this action.In relation to adult victim-survivors, the Adult Support and Protection National Minimum Dataset collects data on primary harm, including categories on physical harm’, ‘sexual harm’, ‘psychological/ emotional harm’ and ‘domestic abuse’. This data is shared with Local Health and Social Care Partnerships on a quarterly basis as unpublished management information and can be used to inform broader local discussions on public protection.Adult Support and Protection contribute to the Equally Safe strategy as a partner in public protection and data will be available from wider sources.For child victim-survivors, the Scottish Government are continuously looking to improve local and national data and evidence around child protection. A National Child Protection Data Group with members from the Scottish Government, Care Inspectorate and the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS) oversees this work. The group meets regularly and organises annual in-person events to bring together individuals with an interest in local and national child protection data from across the country.A national dataset is published on an annual basis to support the publication of the Scottish Government’s annual children’s social work statistics. The publication of these statistics is important to allow us to follow long term trends in child protection data. The data collection specification has been revised to ensure alignment with the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 – updated 2023. Child protection registrations linked to domestic abuse are collected as part of this publication.A minimum data set for Child Protection Committees (CPCs) has been developed which aims to support the delivery of continuous improvement and self-evaluation responsibilities. The minimum dataset is a ‘package’ of data collation, presentation, analysis, reporting and scrutiny supports to support child protection improvement, local planning and service development, and expanded analytical capacity. Child Protection Committees can supplement the minimum dataset with additional information depending on the needs of their area. Version 2 of the minimum dataset for Child Protection Committees was launched in June 2021 and aligns with the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland.Since 2021, our partners CELCIS have administered the Children’s Care and Protection Data Community of Practice Scotland Knowledge Hub site. The site is open to all people interested in children’s data. The Hub will facilitate a more co-ordinated strategic approach to sharing learning and to help inform local planning and service development.