Vision statement two: Scotland must limit the number of moves that children experience and support carers to continue to care
There must be sufficient capacity within children’s social services to recruit loving, attentive carers and support them to continue to care, and provide children and young people with stability when moves need to happen.
Staff working in children’s fieldwork services, including qualified social workers:
i. Whole Time Equivalent (rounded to nearest 10)
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 5, 000 |
| 2023 | 4, 880 |
| 2022 | 4, 990 |
| 2021 | 5, 050 |
| 2020 | 4, 860 |
| 2019 | 4, 920 |
ii. Rate per 100,000 0-17 year olds
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 490.4 |
| 2023 | 479.9 |
| 2022 | 495.9 |
| 2021 | 501.7 |
| 2020 | 479.2 |
| 2019 | 482.3 |
iii. Stability index
| Year | StabilityIndex |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 80.0% |
| 2023 | 74.7% |
| 2022 | 74.0% |
| 2021 | 70.6% |
| 2020 | 80.6% |
| 2019 | 80.3% |
Notes
Last updated: From September 2025
Next Update due: From September 2026
Expanded Content
The WTE number of staff working in local authority fieldwork services for children has fluctuated between 4,860 and 5,050 over the six year period.At December 2024 the WTE number of staff working in children’s fieldwork services was 5,000, which is a 80 full time posts more than in 2019 and 120 more than in 2023.
As a rate per 100,000 children (age 0 to 17) in the population the number of WTE staff has increased from 482 in 2019 to 490 in 2024.
The stability index at December 2024 was 80%, an increase on the 2023 figure of 74.7%, and similar to the 2019 figure (80.3%).
The increase in WTE in 2024 is mainly driven by a higher than usual number of social work staff in Edinburgh City Council. The December 2024 WTE number of social workers in fieldwork services for children in Edinburgh City Council was recorded as 241 compared to 188 (the average WTE across the previous ten-years).