Statistical Bulletin SWK/S/2001/23: August 2001: page 6


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Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2000

6. Vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services

6.1 Information on vacancies was collected for the first time, on a voluntary basis, in the October 2000 survey. The figures collected are incomplete, with some local authorities unable to provide any figures on vacancies and others only able to provide partial returns. The tables in this section therefore show the total (WTE) staff which relates to the vacancy figures supplied, alongside the vacancy figures and the overall total (as shown in previous sections of this bulletin). In particular, the vacancy figures exclude home care staff, given the different employment conditions which apply for such staff in many councils.

6.2 A total of 1,526 WTE vacancies were reported in October 2000, corresponding to 7% of relevant staff. Imputing for missing values suggests that the total vacancies (excluding home care staff) in Local Authority Social Work Services was around 1,800. This figure would have been considerably higher if home care vacancies had been included. Vacancy rates were highest in Midlothian (13%), West Lothian (13%) and Renfrewshire (11%) and lowest in Moray (1%), East Lothian (2%) and Eileanan Siar (2%). It should be noted that there may be a number of factors affecting vacancy rates, including competition from the retail sector and call centres.

Staff and Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000
WTEs by Local Authority

Table 6

Local Authority	Total Staff(WTE)	Vacancies (WTE)	Corresponding Population ⁽¹⁾	Percent Vacancies ⁽²⁾
Aberdeen City	1,596	70	1,116	5.9
Aberdeenshire	1,326
Angus	767	32	584	5.3
Argyll & Bute	700	20	451	4.3
Clackmannanshire	285	9	254	3.4
Dumfries & Galloway	453	23	448	4.9
Dundee City	1,190	24	909	2.6
East Ayrshire	782	44	635	6.5
East Dunbartonshire	494	12	332	3.3
East Lothian	483	5	291	1.8
East Renfrewshire	428	12	305	3.7
Edinburgh, City of	3,763
Eileanan Siar	368	5	234	2.1
Falkirk	935	10	266	3.6
Fife	2,589	56	1,808	3.0
Glasgow City	4,275	396	4,161	8.7
Highland	1,052	122	1,052	10.4
Inverclyde	684	14	491	2.7
Midlothian	476	50	333	13.0
Moray	472	3	309	0.8
North Ayrshire	973	37	685	5.1
North Lanarkshire	2,223	118	1,415	7.7
Orkney Islands	285	12	226	5.0
Perth & Kinross	676	34	588	5.4
Renfrewshire	1,280	103	825	11.1
Scottish Borders	702	26	530	4.7
Shetland Islands	308	9	246	3.4
South Ayrshire	712	20	493	4.0
South Lanarkshire	1,735	117	1,275	8.4
Stirling	509
West Dunbartonshire	878	60	636	8.6
West Lothian	764	84	587	12.6
Scotland	34,161	1,526	21,487	*6.6*

6.3 In terms of client groups, vacancies were highest for staff providing services for people with mental health problems (10%), people with physical disabilities (10%), offenders (8%) and children (8%).

Staff and Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000
WTEs by Client Group

Table 7

Client Group		Total Staff (WTE)	Vacancies (WTE)	Corresponding Population ⁽¹⁾	Percent Vacancies ⁽²⁾
Children		5,384	367	4,318	7.8
Adults (Community Care)		21,300	696	10,909	6.0
	Older People ⁽³⁾	5,476	279	4,454	5.9
	People with Physical Disabilities ⁽³⁾	484	47	426	9.8
	People with Mental Health Problems ⁽³⁾	300	17	145	10.5
	People with Learning Disabilities ⁽³⁾	3,077	120	2,592	4.4
	Adults (not separately identified) ⁽⁴⁾	11,963	233	3,292	6.6
Offenders		1,182	94	1,020	8.4
Generic provision		3,196	219	2,811	7.2
Management/ Administration		3,101	150	2,429	5.8
Total		34,161	1,526	21,487	6.6

Note:
(1) Total staff (WTE) on which vacancy figures are based. Excludes staff where vacancy figures were unavailable.
(2) Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement (i.e. corresponding population + vacancies).
(3) Staff in day centres and residential establishments providing services for specific client groups.
(4) Fieldwork staff providing services to adults and domiciliary staff.

6.4 Looking at type of activity/ location, vacancies were higher amongst residential staff providing services for children (9%) and criminal justice staff (8%) and lower amongst residential staff providing services for adults and domiciliary staff (both 5%).

Staff and Vacancies in Scottish Social Work Services, 2000
WTEs by Type of Activity/ Location

Table 8

Type of Activity/ Location	Total Staff (WTE)	Vacancies (WTE)	Corresponding Population ⁽¹⁾	Percent Vacancies ⁽²⁾
Strategic/ Central Staff	3,035	150	2,429	5.8
Criminal Justice Staff	1,182	94	1,020	8.4
Fieldwork Staff	8,377	576	7,295	7.3
Residential Staff: Services for Children	2,009	159	1,600	9.1
Residential Staff: Services for Adults	5,866	272	4,752	5.4
Day Care Staff: Services for Children	675	29	416	6.6
Day Care Staff: Services for Adults	3,471	191	2,865	6.2
Domiciliary	9,482	55	1,109	4.8
Full-time secondments	66
Total	34,161	1,526	21,487	6.6

6.5 The vacancy figures can also be expressed in terms of staff groups, with staff classified by function. See Annex, paragraph 7.13 for further details on the staff groups used.

6.6 Table 9 shows that vacancies were relatively high amongst other qualified fieldwork staff (9%), social workers (8%) and support staff (8%). Support staff accounted for almost one third of all vacancies reported and social workers accounted for a further 18%.

6.7 Imputing for missing vacancy figures suggests that the total support staff vacancies are estimated to be over 570 and the total social worker vacancies around 330.

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

Table 9

Staff Group	Total Staff (WTE)	Vacancies (WTE)	Corresponding Population ⁽¹⁾	Percent Vacancies ⁽²⁾
Senior Managers, etc	1,416	51	1,274	3.9
Social Workers	3,894	268	3,210	7.7
Other Qualified Fieldwork Staff	1,592	139	1,385	9.1
Social Work Assistants	999	59	936	5.9
Home Care Staff & Managers	8,837	28	521	5.2
Other Domiciliary Staff	472	17	427	3.9
Day Care - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	1,337	56	844	6.2
Day Care - Care Staff	1,902	96	1,729	5.2
Residential - Managers & Qualified Care Staff	3,631	201	2,675	7.0
Residential - Care Staff	3,011	144	2,786	4.9
Support Staff	7,004	467	5,699	7.6
Secondments	66
Total	34,161	1,526	21,487	6.6

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Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2000

6. Vacancies in Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services

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