Question reference: S3W-11949
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 16 April 2008
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 April 2008
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent on wages for carers of disabled people and whether it is aware that use of an assistance dog, such as provided by Canine Partners, can reduce this by more than a third.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. In the following table, information is presented on the number of local authority social care workers who work directly with adults in each salary band. This information cannot be broken down to extract those who work specifically with disabled people. In June 2008, information on salary bands will be presented in the statistical publication Staff Of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, available on the Scottish Government website.
It is for employers to decide how to make the most efficient use of their resources in providing care for disabled people, including deciding whether to use assistance dogs.
| Main Job Function | Salary (£) | |||||||
| <10,000 | 10,000-13,125 | >13,125-17,500 | >17,500-21,875 | >21,875-26,250 | >26,250-35,000 | Not Known | Total | |
| Routine Care/Support Work (Other than Home Care, Care Home and AHP assistance) | 96 | 131 | 193 | 324 | 46 | 5 | 363 | 1,158 |
| Home Care | 525 | 3,052 | 597 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1399 | 5,574 |
| Routine Care/Support Work (Care Home) | 46 | 74 | 247 | 108 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 503 |
| Other Class 2 Care Work | 7 | 59 | 115 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 214 |
| Total | 674 | 3,316 | 1,152 | 447 | 57 | 7 | 1,796 | 7,449 |
Notes:
1. The staff included within this table encompass those who work within all categories of Adult services, including those specialising in mental health, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, substance misuse and sensory impairment.
2. Class 2 Care Work Staff are defined as Staff who provide direct personal physical, emotional, social or health care and support to service users and are accountable for dealing with routine aspects of a care plan or service. These staff usually have no supervisory responsibility.
3. Of the 53,776 staff reported in the 2006 Staff Of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services publication, 34% were reported with no main user group identified. Of the 66% with a user group 7,449 were identified as being Class 2 workers working with the user group Adults.
4. The salary information provided is the full-time equivalent. For example, a person earning £6,000 per annum for half a week''s work would be reported as being in the salary range £10,000 “ £13,125 not <£10,000.