Social Care Staff

The Information Centre for Health and Social care collect an annual return of locla government social care staffing - the SSDS001. In previous years the LGA has used this data to inform the Social Care Workforce Survey. This collection was discontinued in 2007, following the introduction of the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care (NMDS-SC), in an effort to reduce the burdens placed upon local authorities. Since then we have received numerous requests for the analysis that used to be provided on the SSDS001. This grouped the detailed job role codes to provide headline figures for some of the main social care roles. 

The latest 2008 figures show:

• Over 250,000 staff employed by local authorities in England in the provision of adults' and children's social care;
• A total of nearly 50,000 Social Workers employed by local authorities in England with over 26,000 employed as Children's Social Workers; and
• Local Authorities also employ nearly 2,500 Occupational Therapists, 25,000 residential care staff and over 30,000 Home Care Staff.

We intend to publish the analysis annually and will use NMDS-SC data once it is available for all local authorities.

Social Care Staff 2008 (XLS, 880KB)

Social Care Staff 2007 (XLS, 858KB)

Social Care Staff 2006 (XLS, 879KB)

Contact: ben.hickman@lga.gov.uk

Telephone: 0207 664 3190