Question reference: S6W-09538
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 30 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 27 July 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the recruitment and retention challenges affecting Scotland’s social work profession identified in the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland, which have reportedly left the size of the workforce relatively unchanged in recent years.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. We acknowledge the significant pressures social workers face around increasing workloads, staff shortages and the more complex needs of those they support – all of which have been exacerbated by COVID.
Social workers are primarily employed by local authorities. It is the responsibility of local authorities to plan their workforce and ensure they have the appropriate levels of staff in place to provide social services for their residents. The Scottish Government has already announced additional investment of £25m, as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector and to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. As agreed by COSLA Leaders, £22m of funding from the Scottish Government was distributed based on grant aided expenditure for adult social work for 2022-23. Local authorities have the flexibility to use it in accordance with their local needs, to increase and/or retain the capacity of the social work workforce, to respond to the current pressures.
This is on top of the additional £25m funding that has already been invested by the Scottish Government to support the training of social workers over the last 5 years. In addition, between 2021 – 2023, the Scottish Association of Social Work is receiving funding of £200,000 to provide a peer support service covering a range of issues, including wellbeing and resilience.
The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support the social work profession in a range of areas, including: workforce planning and education.
Considering the findings of the report, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and other stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.