FOI/202600534215 · FOI · partially withheld
National Minimum Dataset for Adult Support and Protection Scotland statistics: FOI release
Information requested
You asked for a number of Adult Support and Protection indicators, broken down by local authority.
Response
Most of the data you have requested is included in the accompanying Excel workbook. The data is provided in accessible table format and there are a number of notes and caveats which we request that you consider carefully alongside the data.
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it could result in identification of individuals, and disclosing it could result in further harm to an individual, and would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
In these cases, we have applied cell suppression where the absolute number was less than 5 but more than 0. In some cases where only one number would need to be suppressed, secondary suppression has also been implemented to ensure it is not possible to derive suppressed numbers through calculation. In some cases, 0's may have been used for secondary suppression.
Suppressed numbers are displayed as *. This applies to indicators 10, 11, 15 and 16. In carrying out this suppression, this allows us to provide you with as much of the data possible but without breaching data protection principles.
There are a number of overarching notes about the data which we wish to draw to your attention:
Some differences exist in how local authorities implement the ASP Act and the associated ASP Code of Practice, and this variation in ASP practice significantly impacts the comparability across local authorities of the data reported for some indicators. During 2024-25 there was also some continued variation in recording practices and data reporting across local authorities. For these reasons, the data for 2024-25 is considered not sufficiently robust to enable meaningful comparisons to be drawn between local authorities. The governance structures and practices within local authorities in Scotland vary significantly impacting the context of the data. This includes when a referral is counted as an Adult Support and Protection referral, when an inquiry is deemed to be conducted with or without investigatory powers, at what stage of the inquiry a case conference might be held. As a result, the information is specific to each authority's recording and reporting practices and should be interpreted within its local context. Some local authorities have additional steps in their Adult Support and Protection process. These are based on local needs, capabilities and structures. As these are not taking place across all local authorities, there is no data collected on these. These differences in practice, however, impact the numbers in our dataset. Due to inconsistencies in how indicators are interpreted and applied across authorities and differing processes within each local authority, the data is primarily used as management information to support improvement activity within individual areas. We do not advise making comparisons with data from England and Wales, primarily due to the differences in legislation and practice between England, Wales and Scotland. For example, in Scotland we do not use adult safeguarding as a concept or definition. To minimise suppression and maximise the amount of data which can be released for Orkney, Shetland and Na h-Eileanan Siar, these Island Local Authorities have been aggregated into a single ‘Islands’ worksheet.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it could result in identification of individuals, and disclosing it could result in further harm to an individual, and would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.