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This is the Twenty-first Bulletin in a series covering the staffing of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Departments. It contains the results of a staffing census which was held across all Scottish Local Authorities on 5 October 1998. It also contains, for comparison purposes, some data from earlier years. The statistical notes on page 3 should be read carefully, however, when comparing data from different years.
Note: Data for 1995, 1996 and 1997 include estimated figures for The Scottish Borders.
Each Local Authority is asked to submit an annual census form detailing the staff employed by their Social Work/Social Services Department, whether freestanding or part of a larger Department. The census date is the first Monday in October. Up until October 1997, full details on terms of employment, grade, type of activity/location, qualifications, training courses and turnover of staff in certain grades were collected each year. In October 1997, a shorter ‘summary’ form was introduced, with the expectation that details of qualifications would be collected, in addition to summary details, every third year. Under this system, the next collection to include qualifications is due in October 1999. The method of collection is currently under review.
a. Owing to changes in classification on census forms, breakdowns into different activities, locations or grades are not always strictly comparable across years. This is particularly the case from 1997 onwards. It should also be noted that different Authorities may classify staff differently, according to the way work is organised in their area. Social Workers, for example, may be classified either under Generic Provision, or by the nature or location of their work (adult services, children’s services etc.).
b. Figures relating to The Scottish Borders were not available from 1995 to 1997. In order to improve comparability of Scottish totals across these years, figures in this bulletin include estimates for The Scottish Borders where actual figures were not available. The Scottish totals for these years, therefore, will not match exactly with figures previously published in the Bulletins for 1995 to 1997.
c. Some further adjustments to the 1997 figures have been made as a result of having received corrected figures from one authority. Any figures for 1997 should, therefore, be taken from this bulletin rather than the 1997 bulletin. If more detailed breakdowns of 1997 data are required, these can be provided on request.
d. Working practices have changed over the years. In particular, since Local Government Re-organisation in 1996, many authorities are undertaking some tasks through joint arrangements of one type or another. It is also becoming clear that some authorities are increasingly contracting-out services. Thus, while the level of service may remain the same, the staff carrying out those services will no longer necessarily be employees of the Local Authority Social Work Department. The staff numbers in this bulletin, therefore, should not be taken as a strict measure of the services provided by each authority. Tables 4 to 7, along with table 11 at the end of the Bulletin, show some of the instances of joint arrangements and contracting-out of which we have become aware. These should not be taken as comprehensive lists of these practices, as they only reflect those instances which were specifically reported during the October 1998 staffing census exercise.
e. Whole Time Equivalent (WTE), where used, is an addition of i). the number of Full Time staff, and ii) the total number of hours worked by all the Part Time staff in a week, divided by the number of hours considered to be the standard Full Time week for a member of staff (usually of the order of 39 hours).
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