S6W-26271

Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - West Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported figures highlighting that, in 2022-23, social workers in Scotland lost over 30,000 days in absences due to mental ill-health.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

The Scottish Government recognises the pressures social workers are under and are taking action to support the workforce.

We have invested in wellbeing resources. From 2021 onwards, we provided the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) with £296,000 to invest in a Social Work Professional Support Service. This service covers a number of professional issues, including wellbeing and resilience, and is backed by the National Wellbeing Hub.

We have also provided funding to support the social work workforce. In 2022-2023 and also in 2023-2024, we gave £22 million to councils to address the shortages of social work staff in adult services.

Currently, we are working with partners to identify ways to better support social workers, including developing a Joint Workforce Improvement Plan in conjunction with COSLA to address recruitment and retention challenges. We have also formed a Joint Social Care and Social Work/Services Workforce Taskforce to explore ways we can deliver improvements for workforces in adult and children’s social care and social work.

We will create a National Social Work Agency to provide a single national body with oversight of the social work profession. The Agency will promote workforce wellbeing and create a listening leadership culture.

Mentions:
1: None AHPFS is opposed to the creation of a national social work agency. - Speech Link
2: Gulhane, Sandesh (Con - Glasgow) How will that impact on and help social workers? - Speech Link
3: Harper, Emma (SNP - South Scotland) Do people know what social workers do? - Speech Link