Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2002

7. Vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services

7.1 Information on vacancies was collected from all local authorities in the 2001 and 2002 surveys. Information was less complete for 2000, so comparisons over time should be treated with care. Vacancy figures exclude home care staff, given the different employment conditions which apply for such staff in many councils. The tables in this section therefore show vacancies and vacancy rates which exclude home care staff.

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000 - 2002
WTEs by Local Authority

Table 7

Local Authority	2000		2001		2002
Local Authority	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Aberdeen City	70	5.9	70	6.3	103	9.0
Aberdeenshire	-	-	5	0.5	34	3.3
Angus	32	5.2	52	7.9	81	11.0
Argyll & Bute	20	4.2	23	4.6	78	13.0
Clackmannanshire	9	3.4	9	3.3	13	5.0
Dumfries & Galloway	23	4.9	65	11.1	48	7.7
Dundee City	24	2.8	17	2.0	29	3.3
East Ayrshire	44	6.5	86	13.6	72	12.1
East Dunbartonshire	12	3.5	12	3.0	26	6.4
East Lothian	5	1.7	13	4.0	9	2.4
East Renfrewshire	12	3.8	11	3.4	23	6.5
Edinburgh, City of ⁽²⁾	-	-	315	10.1	306	10.0
Eilean Siar	5	2.1	4	1.6	8	3.1
Falkirk	10	3.6	19	3.0	18	2.7
Fife	56	3.0	170	8.0	272	11.7
Glasgow City	396	8.7	531	11.3	588	12.6
Highland	122	10.4	84	7.2	105	8.2
Inverclyde	14	2.8	32	5.6	24	4.2
Midlothian	50	13.1	50	13.0	36	9.5
Moray	3	1.0	3	1.1	7	2.5
North Ayrshire	37	5.1	54	7.6	51	6.4
North Lanarkshire	118	7.7	205	11.8	195	11.7
Orkney Islands	12	5.0	12	5.0	25	9.2
Perth & Kinross	34	5.5	56	10.9	70	12.7
Renfrewshire	103	11.1	106	11.4	156	14.1
Scottish Borders	26	4.7	120	17.3	71	11.1
Shetland Islands ⁽³⁾	9	3.5	42	14.5	44	16.6
South Ayrshire	20	3.9	15	3.6	27	4.7
South Lanarkshire	117	8.4	101	7.1	178	11.7
Stirling	-	-	27	6.7	12	2.8
West Dunbartonshire	60	8.6	64	9.0	109	14.2
West Lothian	84	12.5	48	7.3	45	6.3
Scotland	1,526	*6.7*	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*

Note:

(1) Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement - i.e. relevant WTE + vacancies. Relevant WTE excludes staff where vacancy figures are unavailable.

(2) 'Negative vacancies' reported by Edinburgh in 2001 and 2002 have been set to zero.

(3) Improved recording of vacancies in Shetland since 2000 is behind the apparent jump in figures between 2000 and 2001.

7.2 In both 2001 and 2002, the City of Edinburgh reported 'negative vacancies', or above complement numbers of staff, in some areas. In order not to distort aggregate analyses, these have been set to zero for this bulletin.

7.3 A total of 2,861 WTE vacancies were reported in October 2002. Vacancy rates were highest in the Shetland Islands (17%), West Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire (both 14%). Rates were lowest in East Lothian (2%). It should be noted that changes in vacancy rates from 2000 to 2001 are likely to be affected by incorporating more complete data, as well as by any underlying changes. Imputing for missing values, it is estimated that total vacancies in 2000 amounted to just over 1800.

7.4 In terms of client groups, vacancies were highest for staff providing services for people with mental health problems (17%) and children (13%) and lowest for those providing services for older people (7%).

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000 - 2002
WTEs by Client Group

Table 8

Client Group		2000		2001		2002
		Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Children		367	8.0	633	10.2	842	12.9
Adults (Community Care)		696	6.0	1,063	7.2	1,255	8.2
	Older People ⁽²⁾	279	5.9	401	6.7	427	7.2
	People with Physical Disabilities ⁽²⁾	47	9.9	30	6.6	36	8.3
	People with Mental Health Problems ⁽²⁾	17	10.5	36	13.1	32	16.7
	People with Learning Disabilities ⁽²⁾	120	4.4	165	4.9	297	8.2
	Adults (not separately identified) ⁽³⁾	233	6.6	431	9.3	463	9.2
Offenders		94	8.4	137	9.9	167	11.3
Generic provision		219	7.2	291	9.1	282	7.9
Management/ Administration		150	5.8	296	9.8	315	10.5
Total		1,526	*6.7*	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*

Note:

(1) Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement - i.e. relevant WTE + vacancies. Relevant WTE excludes staff where vacancy figures are unavailable.

(2) Staff in day centres and residential establishments providing services for specific client groups.

(3) Fieldwork staff providing services to adults and domiciliary staff.

7.5 Looking at type of activity/ location (table 9), vacancies were higher amongst residential staff providing services for children (16%) and lowest amongst day care staff providing services for children and domiciliary staff (5%).

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000 - 2002
WTEs by Type of Activity/ Location

Table 9

Type of Activity/ Location	2000		2001		2002
Type of Activity/ Location	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Strategic/ Central Staff	150	5.8	296	9.8	315	10.5
Criminal Justice Staff	94	8.4	137	9.9	167	11.3
Fieldwork Staff	576	7.3	962	9.7	1,103	10.3
Residential Staff: Services for Children	159	9.0	266	11.7	381	16.3
Residential Staff: Services for Adults	272	5.4	387	6.2	456	7.3
Day Care Staff: Services for Children	29	8.1	47	8.3	25	4.8
Day Care Staff: Services for Adults	191	6.3	245	6.4	336	8.5
Domiciliary	55	4.7	80	6.2	78	5.1
Total	1,526	*6.7*	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*

Note:

(1) Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement - i.e. relevant WTE + vacancies. Relevant WTE excludes staff where vacancy figures are unavailable.

7.5 The vacancy figures can also be expressed in terms of staff groups, with staff classified by function.

7.6 Table 10 shows that vacancies were relatively high amongst social workers (12%) and other qualified fieldwork staff (10%). Support staff accounted for almost one third of all vacancies reported and social workers accounted for a further 20%.

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000 - 2002
WTEs by Staff Group

Table 10

Staff Group	2000		2001		2002
Staff Group	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Senior Managers, etc	51	3.8	119	7.4	127	8.6
Social Workers	268	7.7	471	10.8	564	12.3
Other Qualified Fieldwork Staff	139	9.1	197	11.2	209	10.3
Social Work Assistants	59	5.9	76	6.5	114	8.2
Home Care Staff & Managers	28	5.1	41	6.0	43	5.6
Other Domiciliary Staff	17	3.8	24	5.5	17	3.2
Day Care - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	56	6.4	68	4.6	87	5.8
Day Care - Care Staff	96	5.4	135	7.2	173	8.9
Residential - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	201	7.0	350	8.0	432	10.1
Residential - Care Staff	144	4.9	155	5.6	212	7.3
Support Staff	467	7.6	783	9.7	883	10.5
Total	1,526	*6.7*	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*

Note:

(1) Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement - i.e. relevant WTE + vacancies. Relevant WTE excludes staff where vacancy figures are unavailable.

Page updated: Thursday, May 18, 2006

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