Introduction
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2007. This publication contains statistics obtained from the staffing census held across all local authorities on 01 October 2007. It presents findings from a range of statistics to provide an overall picture of demand for, supply of and outcomes from the social care workforce.
The main findings are:
- There were 44,243 whole time equivalent ( WTE) staff employed by Scottish Local Authority Social Services in October 2007. However, this figure includes Glasgow's home care staff as this was supplied for the first time. Excluding these staff results in a figure of 41,850 WTE, which corresponds to a 1.2% increase compared with October 2006 ( Table 1).
- The 44,243 WTE staff in October 2007 corresponded to 8.6 staff per 1,000 population. The number of staff per 1,000 population was highest in the island councils (25.0 in Shetland Islands, 21.2 in Orkney Islands and 17.1 in Eilean Siar), and lowest in Clackmannanshire (5.3) and Stirling (5.4). ( Table 2)
- One per cent of all staff were reported as being from an ethnic minority group and 1.7% were declared as having a disability in 2007. However, 21.6% of all staff had a not known/disclosed ethnic group and similarly, 21.9% had a not known/disclosed disability. ( Table 3).
- In October 2007, 72.1% of social work services staff (with a known age) were at least 40 years old. In addition, 3.5% were under 25 years of age. ( Table 4).
- The majority (84.8%) of all staff in 2007 were female. This proportion was highest for staff providing services for adults (not separately identifiable), where 92.7% were female, and lowest for staff providing services for offenders (64.4%). ( Table 5).
- Just over 30% of staff employed by Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services in October 2007 were domiciliary staff (mainly home carers) and 27.3% were fieldwork staff. A further 14.9% worked in residential establishments for adults and 9.3% were located in day care centres for adults. ( Table 11).
- There were 3,037 WTE vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services in October 2007. This represents 8.5% of posts as at October 2007. ( Table 19).
- Of the 3,037 WTE vacancies, 399 WTE vacancies were for qualified social workers. This represents 7.4% of all social worker posts that were vacant as at October 2007. ( Table 21).
All Staff in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services
1.1 There were 56,837 staff employed by Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services in October 2007. This comprised 26,230 full-time staff and a further 30,607 staff who were employed on a part-time basis. The whole time equivalent ( WTE) number of staff was 44,243 (see Background Notes, paragraph 10.10). ( Table 1).
1.2 The 44,243 WTE staff in October 2007 corresponded to 8.6 staff per 1,000 population. The level of staffing in each council is influenced to some extent by the level of social work involvement required, which in turn, may be affected by a range of factors, including deprivation and urban/rural issues. Other factors affecting the level of staffing include the extent to which services are contracted out and the extent to which services are provided in partnership with neighbouring local authorities and other organisations. The number of staff per 1,000 population was highest in the island councils (25.0 in Shetland Islands, 21.2 in Orkney Islands and 17.1 in Eilean Siar), and lowest in Clackmannanshire (5.3) and Stirling (5.4). ( Table 2)
ETHNICITY AND DISABILITY
2.1 One per cent of all staff are reported as being from an ethnic minority group in 2007. However, 21.6% of all staff had a not known/disclosed ethnic group. ( Table 3).
2.2 Just under 2% of all staff are declared as having a disability in October 2007. However, 21.9% of all staff had a not known/disclosed disability status. ( Table 3.)
Staff Numbers by Age Group
3.1 In October 2007, of those staff whose age was known, 72.1% of social work services staff were at least 40 years old. In addition, 3.5% were under 25 years of age. ( Table 4).
3.2 Analysis of the different age groups (whose age was known) by client group shows that the highest percentage of staff aged under 25 worked in the 'management/admin' group (7.1%), whilst the lowest percentage worked with 'adults with physical disabilities' (1.9%). The highest percentage of staff aged 40 or over worked with 'Adults - Not Separately Indentified' (77.5%), while the lowest percentage worked in 'Management/Administration' (63.2%). ( Table 7).
3.3 A similar analysis by staff group revealed that the highest percentage of staff aged under 25 (whose age was known) were 'Support Staff' (7.9%), whilst 'Senior Managers, etc.' had the lowest percentage (0.3%). The highest percentage of staff aged 40 or over were 'Senior Managers, etc.' (86.5%) whilst 'Trainee Social Workers' had the lowest proportion (33.6%). ( Table 10).
3.4 Looking at the percentage in the different age groups (whose age was known) by type of activity/location, it was found that 'Strategic/Central Staff' has the highest proportion of staff aged under 25 (7.1%) whilst 'Day Care Staff: Services for Adults' had the lowest percentage of under 25 year olds (2.4%). The highest percentage of staff aged 40 or over were 'domiciliary' (78.7%) whilst 'day care staff: services for children' had the lowest percentage of staff aged 40 or over (55.7%). ( Table 13).
NUMBERS AND WTE by Client Group
4.1 This section provides information on the number of staff and WTE staff by client group. Information on the gender of staff is also provided.
4.2 In October 2007, 63.8% of staff provided services for adults, a further 16.5% provided services for children and 4.0% provided services for offenders. Seven per cent of staff were attributed to generic provision, providing services for more than one client group and 8.6% were in management/administration. ( Table 5).
4.3 The majority (84.8%) of all staff in October 2007 were female. This proportion was highest for staff providing services for adults (not otherwise identifiable), where 92.7% were female, and lowest for staff providing services for offenders (64.4%) ( Table 5).
4.4 The 28,249 staff ( WTE) who provided services for adults corresponded to 6.9 per 1,000 population aged 18 and over. The 7,313 staff ( WTE) who provided services for children corresponded to 7.0 staff per 1,000 population aged under 18 ( Table 6).
Numbers and WTE by Staff Group
5.1 This section provides information on the number of staff and WTE staff by staff group. See Background Notes, paragraph 10.13 for further details on the staff groups used.
5.2 In October 2007, 28.6% of staff ( WTE) were home care staff and managers, and 19.7% were support staff. Just under 12% of all staff were residential managers & qualified care staff and social workers accounted for a further 11.3% of all staff ( Table 8).
5.3 The highest proportion of female staff were found to be Home Care Staff and Managers (96.1%) and the lowest in Senior Managers, etc. (61.9%) ( Table 8).
NUMBERS AND WTE by Type of Activity/Location
6.1 This section provides information on the number ( WTE) of staff by type of activity/location (see Background Notes, paragraph 10.12).
6.2 Just over 30% of staff employed by Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services in October 2007 were domiciliary staff (mainly home carers) and 27.3% were fieldwork staff. A further 14.9% worked in residential establishments for adults and 9.3% were located in day care centres for adults ( Table 11).
6.3 The highest proportion of female staff were found to work in the 'Domiciliary' location (95.6%) and the lowest in the 'Criminal Justice' location (64.4%) ( Table 11).
Staff Numbers by qualifications held and in progress
7.1 This section provides information on the qualifications held and being worked towards by staff group. See Background Notes, paragraph 10.14 for further details on the qualification codes used.
7.2 Information on qualifications held and in progress by staff was first introduced in the October 2005 Census, and was collected again in October 2006 and October 2007. However, completion of this information by a number of local authorities continues to cause them some difficulty. As a result, this year a qualification matrix of staff group by qualification held/in progress has been produced but no analysis has been done. Please note that all qualifications data given must be treated with extreme caution ( Annex C - Table 1 and Annex C - Table 2).
Vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services
8.1 Vacancy figures exclude home care staff, given the different employment conditions which apply for such staff in many local authorities. Therefore, all the vacancy tables show vacancies and vacancy rates excluding home care staff.
8.2 There were 3,037 WTE vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services in October 2007. This represents 8.5% of all social work services posts (excluding home care) as at October 2007. ( Table 19)
8.3 Vacancy rates were highest in North Lanarkshire who reported 15.0% of their posts being vacant and lowest in East Lothian where only 0.5% of posts were reported as being vacant. ( Table 19)
8.4 In terms of client groups, vacancy rates were highest for staff providing services to people with mental health problems (16.0%) and lowest for those providing services for Children (7.4%). ( Annex A - Table 6)
8.5 Of the 3,037 WTE vacancies, 399 WTE vacancies were for qualified social workers. The proportion of all social worker posts that were vacant was 7.4%. ( Table 21)
8.6 Looking at type of activity/location, vacancy rates were highest amongst Strategic/Central services staff (11.1%) and lowest amongst Day Care Staff: Children's Services (2.8%). ( Table 22)
STAFF FLOWS
9.1 Information on staff who join, staff who leave and staff who move post category within social work services between 3 October 2006 and 1 October 2007 was collected for the first time in October 2007. As this was the first year of collection several local authorities were unable to provide some or all of the data requested. In addition the ongoing process of "Single Status" within many local authorities is known to skew the in/out flows reported. As a result any analysis of the staff flow information should be treated with caution. A summary of data provision by local authority is given in the table below.
Local Authority | Starters Data | Leavers Data |
|---|
Aberdeen City | v | v |
|---|
Aberdeenshire | v | v |
|---|
Angus | v | v |
|---|
Argyll & Bute | v | v |
|---|
City of Edinburgh | v | v |
|---|
Clackmannanshire | v | v |
|---|
Dumfries & Galloway | v | v |
|---|
Dundee City | x | x |
|---|
East Ayrshire | v | v |
|---|
East Dunbartonshire | v | v |
|---|
East Lothian | v | v |
|---|
East Renfrewshire | v | v |
|---|
Eilean Siar | v | v |
|---|
Falkirk | v | v |
|---|
Fife | v | v |
|---|
Glasgow City | v | v |
|---|
Highland | x | x |
|---|
Inverclyde | v | v |
|---|
Midlothian | v | v |
|---|
Moray | v | v |
|---|
North Ayrshire | v | x |
|---|
North Lanarkshire | v | v |
|---|
Orkney Islands | v | v |
|---|
Perth & Kinross | v | v |
|---|
Renfrewshire | v | x |
|---|
Scottish Borders | v | x |
|---|
Shetland Islands | v | v |
|---|
South Ayrshire | v | v |
|---|
South Lanarkshire | v | x |
|---|
Stirling | v | v |
|---|
West Dunbartonshire | v | x |
|---|
West Lothian | v | x |
|---|
v = provided data
x = did not provide any data
9.2 Based on the data received, 42% of all people recorded as a starter ( i.e. starting a new post) between 3 October 2006 and 1 October 2007 had an unknown entry source. Forty seven per cent were reported as coming from another social work services related job. A further 6% of starters were reported as coming into social work services from a non-social work services area, whilst the remaining 5% were reported as having an entry source of "Other". ( Chart 1)
The category "Other" comprises the sub categories first job, from unemployment, family commitments, further/higher education, from abroad, self employment and other entry sources.
9.3 Based on the data received, 79% of all staff reported as a leaver ( i.e. leaving a post) between 3 October 2006 and 1 October 2007 had an unknown leaving destination reported whilst 11% were reported as going to another social work services related job. A further 4% of leavers were reported as going to an unemployment situation (including family commitments), whilst a further 3% were reported as going to a non social work services job. The remaining 2% were reported as having a leaving destination of "Other". ( Chart 2)
The category "Other" comprises the sub categories further/higher education, to abroad, self employment and other destinations.
9.4 Based on the data received, 60% of all staff reported as a leaver ( i.e. leaving a post) between 3 October 2006 and 1 October 2007 were not reported with a reason for leaving. Seventeen per cent of all leavers were reported as leaving because they resigned, whilst 11% left to move to a new post. A further 6% of all leavers were recorded with a reason for leaving as "retired" and 6% had a reason of "Other". ( Chart 3)
The category "Retirement" comprises the sub categories career completion, medically retired and early retirement. The category "Other" comprises the sub categories family commitments, to study, redundancy, dismissal, death and other reasons.