|
|
|
|
1. This joint Scottish Executive / Convention of Scottish Local Authorities statistical press release provides summary information on the number and full-time equivalent number of staff employed in Scottish Local Authorities at 12 June 1999. Information is given on estimated numbers of staff and full-time equivalent numbers of staff within each major local authority service. Full-time equivalent numbers are provided analysed by service by grade of staff, and for each council by service group.
2. This report also provides estimates of full-time equivalent staff numbers employed by local authorities as follows:-
- for March, June, September, December 1998, from the new JSW (see technical notes t.1 - t.5)
- for December 1994 and 1995 from the pre-reorganisation JSW (see technical note t.8)
- for every December between 1994 and 1997 from the annual staffing survey (see technical notes t.9 - t.12).
3. Caution should be applied when interpreting the information supplied in this report, for the following reasons:-
- Differences between councils in staffing levels are influenced by a wide range of factors, including need for the services provided, and the ways in which councils are organised to meet this. Councils have put in place different staffing structures considered most appropriate for their own local circumstances. Differences in staffing levels within individual services will, among other things, reflect these different structures adopted.
- Where authorities provide services through joint arrangements, the staff delivering the service may be grouped with the staff of a lead authority. This is particularly important in interpreting relative numbers of staff in DLO/DSO services.
- Figures may be revised and authorities may improve their calculation or classification methods (see the technical notes, including paragraph t.5, at the back of this report).
The technical notes at the back of the text section of this report provide further background to the information covered by this report.
4. Table 1 shows, for Scotland as a whole, reported details both for full-time and part-time numbers by gender, and estimated full-time equivalent numbers by salary band for June 1999. The table shows an estimated 234,808 full-time equivalent staff employed by Scottish local authorities in June 1999.
5. Chart 2 shows trends in local authority staffing (fte) numbers since 1979. In considering such longer term trends, account needs to be taken of changes in local authorities’ responsibilities over the period. The footnotes to the chart show the most significant discontinuities over the period. The continuous line shows the consistent series which is adjusted for these discontinuities. There was a sharp rise at the end of the 1970s followed by a gradual fall in the early to mid 1980s. Then there was a steady rise, and by 1991 there was little change from the (fte) number reported in 1980. There was a further gradual rise until 1995, and then falls over the period of reorganisation and since then.
6. Table 2 gives information on Scottish local authority staffing by main local authority service from December 1994 to June 1999, separately identifying staffing estimates reported in the pre-reorganisation Joint Staffing Watch surveys, the annual Staffing Surveys in December 1994 to 1997 (see paragraphs t.9 - t.12 of the technical notes) and the new post-reorganisation Joint Staffing Watch surveys. Classification differences between the pre-reorganisation Joint Staffing Watch and the annual staffing survey limit the amount of detailed comparisons which can be made. Paragraph t.8 of the technical notes describes the main classification differences between the surveys.
7. The various classification changes between the old and new JSW returns, and changes in reporting by authorities to the early new JSW make it difficult to give a precise statement of staffing changes over the period. However, the following broad picture can be drawn from the information in Table 2:-
- The 234,808 full-time equivalent number of staff reported to the Joint Staffing Watch in June 1999 was some 19,219 below the full-time equivalent number reported in December 1995.
- Of this reduction, some 6,935 is due to the transfer of services, including water and sewerage services from local authority control.
- Of the remaining reduction of 12,284, some 6,561 took place in the period up to December 1996.
- Between December 1996 and June 1999, authorities have reported further reductions totalling 5,723 full-time equivalent staff.
(Caution: comparisons will include any seasonal effects; see also technical note t.5)
8. As noted in the previous paragraph, the reported total full-time equivalent (fte) staffing level in local authorities fell by 5,723 between December 1996 and June 1999. The majority of this fall occurred between December 1996 and December 1997. During that year there was a decrease of 4,794 (fte) staff. In the quarter between December 1997 and March 1998, there was a small rise of 556 (fte) staff which has been followed by a decrease of 1,485 staff over the period to June 1999. Most of this decrease occurred between June and September 1998 when there was a reduction of 1,142 (fte) in reported staffing levels; (these changes will include any seasonal effects and are affected by the types of discontinuity which are described in technical note t.5).
9. For specific service groups, the largest falls in staffing levels during the year to June 1999 were for staff in social work (down 2,299 fte), corporate services and environmental services (both down 190 fte). The change for social work has been affected by transfer of function, with one council in particular reporting a transfer of around 1,500 fte staff from social services to DLO/DSO between September 1998 and December 1998 as a result of a reclassification of Day Care staff. The fall in corporate and environmental services can be attributed to normal turnover, and in the case of one council, the transfer of staff from environmental services to DLO/DSO. There were reported increases in (fte) numbers for other education staff (up 908 fte) and DLO/DSO (up 932 fte). The increase in other education staff is partially attributable to seasonal demands, whilst the large changes in staffing numbers in DLO/DSO were largely due to transfer of function and reclassification (see technical note t.5).
10. Table 4 shows an analysis of (fte) staff numbers by salary band (excluding teachers, police and fire service staff) at June 1999, and the change since June 1998. Compared with a decrease of 0.9 per cent for all staff covered by this analysis, there was an increase of 2.2 per cent (fte) in Band A staff, an increase of 1.4 per cent (fte) in Band B staff and an increase of 1.3 per cent (fte) in Band C staff. (See technical notes t.6 - t.7 for a fuller description of the salary bands).
11. In interpreting these figures it is important to note the general points on interpretation set out in paragraph 3 of the introduction.
12. Tables 5 and 6 show respectively, for June 1999 for each authority, full-time equivalent staff, and full-time equivalent staff per 1,000 population. Chart 1 shows total full-time equivalent staff per 1,000 population ranked by the total fte staff per 1,000 population employed in the local authority. Differences in staffing levels can occur because of different levels of need for local authority services, and because of different ways in which authorities arrange to provide these.
13. Table 7 shows reported numbers of total full-time equivalent staff (excluding teachers, police, and fire service staff) by salary band for each council for June 1999, while Table 8 shows these expressed per 1,000 population.
14. Band B and Band C staff cover the main groups of professional, technical and clerical staff in authorities, engaged in delivering services.
15. Levels of staff in the ‘other’ category, which covers mainly staff employed under manual workers terms and conditions of service, tend to vary mainly with the scale of authorities’ Direct Labour/Direct Service Organisations.
16. Table 9 shows, for each authority, the number and proportion of non-manual staff within each of the non-manual salary bands, showing authorities ranked by the population of the authority. While there is some evidence of a relationship between population and proportion of staff in higher salary bands, there are very wide variations between authorities of similar sizes.
17. The set of detailed tables from Table 10(a) to Table 10(k) provide, for each authority, information on the number and proportion of full-time equivalent staff by salary band within each of the main service categories. They allow comparisons to be made between authorities in the proportions of senior staff, middle ranking, clerical and manual staff within each service.
18. In assessing the information in the tables, it is particularly important to be cautious in drawing conclusions from percentages in cases where the total numbers of staff are very small. For example the relatively high percentage (25%) of corporate services staff in Orkney in salary band A1 in fact represents only one person in a total fte staff of 4. It is also important to note that differences between authorities within any one service may, in part, reflect differences in the ways in which the authorities are organised to provide these services. For example, in a number of cases, authorities show zero senior manager (i.e. salary band A and above) staff in arts, sport and leisure, and in libraries, museums and galleries. In such cases, these services may be part of a combined service department, and senior manager numbers included within a different service category.
t.1 In the period leading up to the reorganisation of local government in April 1996, the Scottish Office and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities agreed a number of changes to the quarterly Joint Staffing Watch survey, designed to significantly reduce the amount of staffing detail by service/sub-service. A key purpose of the new survey is to provide more meaningful information on overall local authority staffing levels by service and salary band, and to provide more useful comparative information, particularly on relative levels of senior staff numbers, and of numbers of staff in central and corporate management roles. In particular, the new surveys:-
- Identify staff numbers within each of 17 separate service categories, compared with 37 categories in the previous Joint Staffing Watch.
- Provide full-time equivalent staff numbers in each of 5 salary bands, designed to separately identify senior managers, middle managers and equivalent professionals, clerical staff and staff employed under manual terms and conditions.
- Provide estimates of full-time equivalent staff numbers based on actual hours worked, rather than by applying an fte conversion factor to part-time numbers as in the previous survey.
- Identify staff in authorities DLO/DSO services as a separate category, rather than, as in the previous survey, grouping DLO/DSO staff with the services they mainly supported.
t.2 This press release shows full detail of staff numbers by salary band for each council within each of the main local authority services. While these detailed tables provide useful comparative information, they must be used with care. Relative percentages based on small total numbers can be misleading. Differences between authorities in staffing levels by grade and by service, may be due to a number of factors, including different needs for the services provided, and different arrangements within the authority for providing for these needs (for example through different types of joint arrangement). Authorities, themselves, are best placed to address detailed queries on what may lie behind any of the differences shown.
t.3 In recognition of the difficulties which the new councils would face in providing staffing information, the first of the new surveys, which would normally have fallen in March, was postponed until mid-May 1996. The second survey, which would normally have fallen in June was postponed until mid-July. From September 1996, the survey has reverted to the standard quarter dates.
t.4 A number of authorities/joint boards experienced difficulties in supplying estimates for the new JSW, especially in the earliest surveys.
t.5 As in the previous quarters, the figures supplied by authorities for March 1999 have been scrutinised carefully, and oddities queried and, as far as possible, corrected. This process can lead to some revisions to earlier quarters’ data. Such revisions are incorporated in the figures contained in this report. It is not always possible for authorities to revise all previous quarters, leading to some minor discontinuities remaining in the data. In addition, discontinuities can be caused by improved classification by service, or by transfer of functions. Discontinuities frequently arise in the category DLO/DSO, for example, where staff are reclassified to/from other service groups, or where the service provided is no longer provided by staff who are on the payroll of the authority. Further, some authorities noted fluctuations (real, but likely to be, to an extent, temporary changes) in staff levels especially e.g. for supply teachers. In December 1998, one council in particular noted that they had improved the way in which they calculated their figures, by using a computerised system rather than a manual one.
t.6 The purpose of separately distinguishing staff numbers by salary band is to provide a clearer description of relative staffing structures. The bands used are consistent with the salary band definitions used in the suite of more detailed Annual Staffing Surveys (see paragraphs t.9 - t.12 below ). For most of the staff covered, the salary bands used are based on points on the local authority salary scale for administrative, professional, technical and clerical staff. The use of salary bands based on points on the main local authority APT&C pay scale, allows comparisons to be made over time, unaffected by any general increases in pay. The salary bands used in the surveys do not relate directly to salary pay scales under which staff are appointed by local authorities. Where overlap occurs between pay scales and bands used for this survey, staff, as a result of incremental progression, may move into a higher band as recorded by the survey. Care, therefore, requires to be exercised in interpreting movements in band numbers as recorded under this survey.
t.7 The salary bands used are defined as follows:-
Band A1: APT&C staff and Chief Officers paid at or above spinal column point 66 on the APT&C scale. In June 1999, these staff were earning £46,896 per year or above.
Band A2: Other chief officers, and APT&C staff paid between spinal points 50 and 65 on the APT&C scale. In June 1999, these staff were earning between £32,271 and £45,783 per year.
Band B: APT&C staff paid between spinal points 31 and 49 on the APT&C scale. In June 1999, these staff were earning between £19,827 and £31,557 per year.
Band C: APT&C staff paid between spinal points 3 and 30 on the APT&C scale. In June 1999, these staff were earning up to £19,224 per year.
Other: This covers staff mainly employed under local authorities’ manual terms and conditions of service.
t.8 The most important change in the categories of service separately identified in the new Joint Staffing Watch, compared with the pre-reorganisation JSW, is the introduction of a separate category for DLO/DSO staff. In pre-reorganisation JSW surveys, DLO/DSO staff were recorded, as far as possible, by authorities with the service which they supported. This difference in classification significantly affects the comparability between the two JSW surveys in a number of services with significant DLO/DSO support. Key services affected are:-
- Corporate and central support services. In the pre-reorganisation JSW, a number of authorities included general catering and cleaning DLOs/DSOs within the ‘other central services’ categories.
- Other education services. Cleaning and catering DLOs provided school meals and schools cleaning services.
- Roads & transport. Roads maintenance DLOs were generally included under this heading in the pre-reorganisation JSW.
- Arts, sport & recreation. Leisure and recreation DLO/DSO staff were generally included here in pre-reorganisation JSW returns.
- Environmental services. Refuse collection DLOs will have been mainly included here in pre-reorganisation JSW returns.
t.9 To provide a more comprehensive and detailed assessment of staffing changes over the period of local government reorganisation, the Scottish Office commissioned a series of four annual staffing surveys. Tables in this press release include summary information from all the December 1994 to 1997 surveys.
t.10 Because the December surveys are more detailed, this can lead some authorities to interpret the returns slightly differently. As for the returns for any quarter in the JSW, or the December surveys, authorities may improve their methods of calculation for classification of staff. For these reasons, any comparisons between December 1997 estimates and those from the new JSW should be treated with caution. The estimates for December 1998 are, however, broadly comparable with those for December 1997.
t.11 Prior to re-organisation, the December 1994 survey provided the most reliable basis for assessing local authority staffing. By December 1995, authorities were well advanced in establishing the staffing structures of new councils, and a number of staff had transferred to shadow authorities. Depending on the way vacant posts created by such transfers were filled, the December 1995 figures temporarily are likely to include higher numbers of central and senior managers than would be expected under normal operations of authorities.
t.12 It requires, however, to be noted that the December 1994 survey at that time was a new survey required of local authorities. As with any survey, data tends to improve the more the survey is completed and management information systems are refined to gather in statistics in the required format. Caution is therefore required in placing too much significance on the overall accuracy of the 1994 statistics and comparing these with later returns.
The Scottish Executive / The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
December 1999
|
|
|