Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2003

STAFF OF SCOTTISH LOCAL AUTHORITY SOCIAL WORK SERVICES, 2003

7. Vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services

7.1 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, 2001-2003
WTEs by Local Authority

Table 7

Local Authority	2001		2002		2003
Local Authority	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Aberdeen City	70	6.3	103	9.0	162	12.0
Aberdeenshire	5	0.5	34	3.3	48	4.4
Angus	52	7.9	81	11.0	112	13.8
Argyll & Bute	23	4.6	78	13.0	88	12.2
Clackmannanshire	9	3.3	13	5.0	15	5.6
Dumfries & Galloway	65	11.1	48	7.7	75	12.7
Dundee City	17	2.0	29	3.3	31	3.3
East Ayrshire	86	13.6	72	12.1	109	15.8
East Dunbartonshire ⁽²⁾	12	3.0	26	6.4	26	6.5
East Lothian	13	4.0	9	2.4	5	1.3
East Renfrewshire	11	3.4	23	6.5	17	4.6
Edinburgh, City of ⁽³⁾	315	10.1	306	10.0	282	8.7
Eilean Siar	4	1.6	8	3.1	7	2.6
Falkirk	19	3.0	18	2.7	19	2.8
Fife	170	8.0	272	11.7	257	10.3
Glasgow City	531	11.3	588	12.6	484	9.1
Highland	84	7.2	105	8.2	106	8.0
Inverclyde	32	5.6	24	4.2	33	5.5
Midlothian	50	13.0	36	9.5	55	14.4
Moray	3	1.1	7	2.5	7	2.4
North Ayrshire	54	7.6	51	6.4	87	9.4
North Lanarkshire	205	11.8	195	11.7	198	10.3
Orkney Islands	12	5.0	25	9.2	19	7.2
Perth & Kinross	56	10.9	70	12.7	53	8.0
Renfrewshire	106	11.4	156	14.1	146	12.7
Scottish Borders	120	17.3	71	11.1	62	8.9
Shetland Islands ⁽⁴⁾	42	14.5	44	16.6	16	6.3
South Ayrshire	15	3.6	27	4.7	52	8.0
South Lanarkshire	101	7.1	178	11.7	195	11.6
Stirling	27	6.7	12	2.8	25	6.3
West Dunbartonshire	64	9.0	109	14.2	101	10.7
West Lothian	48	7.3	45	6.3	48	6.1
Scotland	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*	2,940	*9.1*

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) East Dunbartonshire could not supply 2003 vacancies, so 2002 figures have been used.
(3) 'Negative vacancies' reported by Edinburgh have been set to zero.
(4) Shetland's vacancy reporting is more accurate in 2003, as over-reporting was suspected in 2001 and 2002.

7.2 Each year the City of Edinburgh has 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 2,940 WTE vacancies were reported in October 2003. Vacancy rates were highest in East Ayrshire (15.8%), and Midlothian (14.4%). Rates were lowest in East Lothian (1.3%) and Moray (2.4%).

7.4 In terms of client groups, vacancies rates were highest for staff providing services for people with mental health problems (14%) and children (12%) and lowest for those providing services for people with learning disabilities (7%).

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2001-2003
WTEs by Client Group

Table 8

Client Group	2001		2002		2003
	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Children	633	10.2	842	12.9	860	11.9
Adults (Community Care)	1,063	7.2	1,255	8.2	1,392	8.5
Older People ⁽²⁾	401	6.7	427	7.2	469	7.7
People with Physical Disabilities ⁽²⁾	30	6.6	36	8.3	42	10.3
People with Mental Health Problems ⁽²⁾	36	13.1	32	16.7	39	14.0
People with Learning Disabilities ⁽²⁾	165	4.9	297	8.2	271	6.9
Adults (not separately identified) ⁽³⁾	431	9.3	463	9.2	571	9.9
Offenders	137	9.9	167	11.3	139	8.7
Generic provision	291	9.1	282	7.9	315	7.6
Management/ Administration	296	9.8	315	10.5	234	7.5
Total	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*	2,940	*9.1*

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 (13%) and lowest amongst day care staff providing services for adults (7%).

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2001-2003
WTEs by Type of Activity/Location

Table 9

Type of Activity/Location	2001		2002		2003
Type of Activity/Location	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Strategic/Central Staff	296	9.8	315	10.5	234	7.5
Criminal Justice Staff	137	9.9	167	11.3	139	8.7
Fieldwork Staff	962	9.7	1,103	10.3	1,237	10.0
Residential Staff: Services for Children	266	11.7	381	16.3	300	12.7
Residential Staff: Services for Adults	387	6.2	456	7.3	525	7.9
Day Care Staff: Services for Children	47	8.3	25	4.8	46	7.7
Day Care Staff: Services for Adults	245	6.4	336	8.5	297	7.4
Domiciliary	80	6.2	78	5.1	163	9.4
Total	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*	2,940	*9.1*

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 (13%) and other qualified fieldwork staff (11%). Support staff accounted for 29% of all vacancies reported and social workers accounted for a further 21%.

Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2001-2003
WTEs by Staff Group

Table 10

Staff Group	2001		2002		2003
Staff Group	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾	Vacancies	Percent Vacancies ⁽¹⁾
Senior Managers, etc	119	7.4	127	8.6	132	7.8
Social Workers	471	10.8	564	12.3	603	12.8
Other Qualified Fieldwork Staff	197	11.2	209	10.3	241	10.6
Social Work Assistants	76	6.5	114	8.2	111	6.7
Home Care Staff & Managers	41	6.0	43	5.6	72	8.2
Other Domiciliary Staff	24	5.5	17	3.2	43	8.1
Day Care - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	68	4.6	87	5.8	91	6.0
Day Care - Care Staff	135	7.2	173	8.9	142	7.3
Residential - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	350	8.0	432	10.1	395	8.7
Residential - Care Staff	155	5.6	212	7.3	245	8.2
Support Staff	783	9.7	883	10.5	865	8.9
Total	2,420	*8.5*	2,861	*9.6*	2,940	*9.1*

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.

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