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The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland 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.

There are a range of social work degrees available from full-time undergraduate to in-work postgraduate courses. Social work courses are offered at nine universities across Scotland. More information can be found here: Studying social work at university - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)

The number of individuals applying for these courses continues to exceed the number of places available, with an overall increase of almost 100 individuals in the last three years. This is shown by 629 applications in 2018-19 versus 720 applications in 2021-22.

As part of our ambition to increase access to the social work profession the Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to explore the creation of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work, and is providing £264,000 funding to Robert Gordon University and Open University to increase their intake of students over the next 12 months.

Further, we are clear that a strong and well supported social work profession is key to delivering the aims set out in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC) and the Promise and our commitment to set up a National Care Service (NCS) within the current Parliamentary session.

The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will invest in the social work profession by providing national leadership, and overseeing and supporting social work in a range of areas, including: workforce planning, improvement and education.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland 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 and 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 invested £25m, as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector. £22m of this funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure, as agreed by COSLA Leaders, and will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce. Another £2m has been given to local authorities since 2019 to provide additional capacities for Mental Health Officers.

There are a range of social work degrees available from full-time undergraduate to in-work postgraduate courses. Since 2018, an additional two universities offer social work courses, which has resulted in nine universities offering courses across Scotland. More information can be found here: Studying social work at university - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)

The number of individuals applying for these courses continues to exceed the number of places available, with an overall increase of almost 100 individuals in the last three years. This is shown by 629 applications in 2018-19 versus 720 applications in 2021-22.

As part of our ambition to increase access to the social work profession the Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to explore the creation of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work. We are also providing an extra £264,000 to Robert Gordon University and Open University to support distance learning courses.

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, and the business support staff that assist them, 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. To aid with this, the Scottish Government provided additional funding of £25m, announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget, to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. As agreed by COSLA Leaders, £22m of funding was distributed based on grant aided expenditure for adult social work for 2022-23. Local authorities have the flexibility to allocate Scottish Government funding based on their individual needs. The intention of the funding is to allow local authorities to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce to respond to the current pressures.

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.

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.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

This aligns with the commitments set out in Womens-Health-Plan-2021-2024 in regards to women experiencing miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, we continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of recruitment and retention of healthcare staff in rural areas through the development of our Remote and Rural workforce recruitment strategy.

Furthermore, the Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education and Workforce Policy Review is currently examining recruitment and retention across the country. Whilst recommendations have not yet been agreed, a subgroup focussing on workforce and recruitment will provide recommendations later this year.

The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education and Workforce Policy Review is currently examining whether AHP education provision, including podiatry, is congruent to the needs of our students and future workforce. Whilst recommendations have not yet been agreed, a subgroup focussing on educational solutions is examining different delivery models including apprenticeships.

Scottish Government do not hold this information centrally, however, a scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over the summer and will inform improvements to miscarriage services.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

A scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over the summer and will inform improvements to miscarriage services.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

A scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over the summer and will help to inform improvements to miscarriage services, including timescales.