How many social workers specialising in childcare have been employed by each local authority in each of the last five years.

Figures for social workers specialising in childcare should not be considered in isolation, as many local authorities also have generic social workers who provide services to more than one client group, including children. Table 1 therefore shows the number of social workers in Scotland by client group in each of the years 1996, 1999 and 2000. Comparable figures for 1997 and 1998 are not available because they were not collected on a consistent basis due to classification changes.Table 1: Staff of Local Authority Social Work Services, 1996
- 2000Social Workers by Client Group1: Whole Time EquivalentsClient group | Number of Staff (WTE)
| 1996 | 1999 | 2000
Children | 1,447 | 1,580 | 1,577
Generic2 | 652 | 894 | 811
Other3 | 1,973 | 1,814 | 1,764
All client groups | 4,072 | 4,288 | 4,152
Notes:1. Includes Senior Social Workers and Main Grade Social Workers.2. Generic provision represents staff who provide services to more than one client group.3. "Other" client groups covers services for adults and services for offenders.Table 2 shows the figures for social workers specialising in childcare by local authority for each of the three years. The differing patterns reflect the extent to which social workers are identified by local authorities as specialist or generic. Some councils have changed their approach to classification over the period covered by the statistics. The proportion of generic provision which relates to children's services is not known.Table 2: Staff of Local Authority Social Work Services, 1996
- 20003Social Workers Specialising in Childcare1, 2: Whole Time EquivalentsLocal Authority | Specialising in C