The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

Secure Accommodation Statistics 2006-07

This publication presents statistics on secure accommodation in Scotland. Headline messages are:

• During 2006-07 a new secure unit opened (Good Shepherd), providing an additional 18 secure places. Therefore at 31 ^st March 2007 six secure units provided a total of 112 secure places, not including emergency beds.
• There was an average of 94 residents in secure accommodation throughout 2006-07, up from 81 in 2005-06.
• The average cost per bed per week was £4,400, ranging from £4,000 to £4,900. The estimated annual cost for secure accommodation in Scotland, based on usage, was £22.0 million in 2006-07, a 36 per cent increase from the previous year in real terms.
• Forty four per cent of all young people admitted to secure accommodation during 2006-07 were 15 years old.
• On the 31 ^st March 2007, there were 596 staff working across the secure estate, of which 15 were temporary. There were 18 vacancies, of which seven had been vacant for more than three months.

SECURE ACCOMMODATION UNITS - CAPACITY AND USAGE

1. At 31 ^st March 2007 there were six secure units providing a total of 112 secure places. ( Table 1, Chart 1)
2. There was an average of 94 residents in secure accommodation throughout 2006-07, up from 81 the previous year. ( Table 2)
3. The number of young people in secure accommodation throughout the year ranged from 76 to 108. ( Table 2)
4. There were 307 admissions to secure accommodation in 2006-07. This is an increase of 22.3 per cent on 2005-06. There was also a 10.3 per cent increase in the number of discharges, to 278. ( Table 2, Chart 1)
5. Good Shepherd secure unit opened on 31 ^st August 2006, and this was followed by a slight increase in admissions in September 2006. The highest number of admissions and discharges during the year occurred during June 2006 and January 2007 respectively. ( Chart 2, Chart 3)
6. Seventy four per cent of young people in secure accommodation on 31 ^st March 2007 were boys. ( Table 4)
7. Ninety three per cent of young people in secure accommodation on 31 ^st March 2007 had at least one known disability. ( Table 4) All of these were known to have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

SECURE ACCOMMODATION UNITS - COSTS AND STAFFING

8. The average cost per bed per week during 2006-07 was £4,400. The annual cost for secure accommodation in Scotland has been estimated, based on usage, as £22.0 million in 2006-07. This is a 39 per cent increase in nominal terms on the cost in 2005-06, or a 36 per cent increase in real terms.
9. On the 31 ^st March 2007, there were 596 staff working across the secure estate, of which 15 were temporary. There were 18 vacancies, of which seven had been vacant for more than three months. ( Table 3)

YOUNG PEOPLE ADMITTED TO SECURE ACCOMMODATION

10. Forty four per cent of children admitted to secure accommodation during the year were admitted when they were 15 years old. The proportion of children admitted at age 16 or over increased from 11 per cent in 2005-06 to 18 per cent in 2006-07. ( Table 5)
11. Where the number of previous spells in secure accommodation was known, 41 per cent of admissions were to young people with at least one previous spell in secure accommodation.
12. Thirty nine per cent of young people admitted to secure accommodation during the year were previously living with parents, other relatives or friends. Girls were more likely than boys to be admitted from foster care or a children's home; boys were more likely to be admitted from the parental home, relatives or friends. ( Table 7)
13. The proportion of young people admitted to secure accommodation that were previously living with parents, other relatives or friends has increased almost constantly since 2000. ( Table 8)

YOUNG PEOPLE DISCHARGED FROM SECURE ACCOMMODATION

14. Thirty one per cent of young people discharged during 2006-07 had been in secure accommodation for less than 1 month, up two percentage points from the previous year. Three per cent had been in secure accommodation for more than 12 months, a slight decrease on the previous year. ( Table 5, Chart 4)
15. Twenty three per cent of all young people leaving secure accommodation in 2006-07 returned to the same type of placement as they were in before being admitted. ( Table 9)
16. Ninety per cent of young people discharged during 2006-07 received medical care during their spell in secure accommodation. The percentage receiving medical care ranged from 80 per cent of those in secure accommodation for less than one month to 100 per cent of those who had been in secure accommodation for more than a year. ( Table 11, Chart 5)

The following charts are available:

Chart 1 - Places, admissions and discharges: 1999-00 to 2006-07
Chart 2 - Admissions to secure accommodation by month, 2005-06 and 2006-07
Chart 3 - Discharges from secure accommodation by month, 2005-06 and 2006-07
Chart 4 - Length of stay on discharge as a percentage of young people discharged during the year ending 31 ^st March, 2000 to 2007
Chart 5 - Percentage of discharged young people who received medical care, agreed aftercare plan, discharge date and place were as agreed, by length of stay in secure accommodation, 2006-07

The following tables are available:

Table 1: Secure accommodation establishments 2006-07
Table 2: Secure accommodation capacity and usage 2000-2007
Table 3: Secure accommodation staff as at 31 ^st March 2007 and 31 ^st March 2006
Table 4: Young people in secure accommodation on 31 ^st March 2000-2007 by gender, age, disability and length of stay
Table 5: Young people admitted to or discharged from secure accommodation during the years ending 31 ^st March 2000-2007 by age and length of stay
Table 6: Number of young people admitted to secure accommodation 2006-07 by local authority
Table 7: Young people admitted to secure accommodation: Placement prior to admission and reason for admission, by gender, 2006-07
Table 8: Placement prior to admission and placement on discharge for young people admitted to or discharged from secure accommodation in the years ending 31st March 2000-2007
Table 9: Percentage of young people discharged from secure accommodation whose placement on discharge was the same as placement prior to admittance, 2006-07
Table 10: Number and percentage of young people discharged from secure accommodation during 2006-07 who received medical care during their stay
Table 11: Percentage of young people discharged from secure accommodation who received medical care and agreed aftercare plan during spell in secure accommodation, and for whom discharge date and placement on discharge were as agreed in aftercare plan, by length of stay, 2006-07

BACKGROUND NOTES

1 The survey forms and guidance notes for data presented in this publication, and previous years' publications, can be seen at www.scotland.gov.uk/childrenstats
2 Good Shepherd secure unit opened on 31 ^st August 2006. The increase in admissions to secure accommodation between 2005-06 and 2006-07 is consistent with the increase in the number of beds.
3 The average number of young people in secure accommodation over the year is calculated using the dates of entry and discharge for every child. Similarly, the estimated annual cost of secure accommodation over the year is calculated using the dates of entry and discharge for every child and the average cost of a secure bed in that unit.
4 Centres were asked to provide only the month and year of birth of young people admitted. In the 2006-07 data the young person's date of birth has been set to the 15th day of the month, so that on average young people's ages at admission will be correct. In previous years the date of birth had been set to the last day of the month. For this reason, roughly 1/24 (four per cent) of young people admitted in 2007 will appear a year older than they would have by the method used in 2006.
5 This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.
6 Public enquiries ( non-media) about the information contained in this Publication Notice should be addressed to:

Rosie Telford

Telephone: 0131 244 0314
e-mail: children.statistics@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

7 Media enquiries about the information in this Statistics Publication Notice should be addressed to Victoria Quinn on 0131 244 2939.

« Previous | Contents | Next »