Fair Start Scotland - year 4: annual report

2. Story of Year 4: Highlights

Key Figures^vi

Year 4 (Apr 2021 – Mar 2022)

The service continued to perform well in its fourth year despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and economic uncertainty.

18,863 referrals were made to the service in Year 4.

12,532 starts to the service in Year 4 including 2,450 re-starts that previously received support on Fair Start Scotland.

4,163 of those who joined the service in Year 4 started a job by September 2022; this includes 699 re-starts to the service.

Years 1 – 4 (Apr 2018 – Mar 2022)

A total of 67,618 referrals were made to Fair Start Scotland in the first four years of the service resulting in 45,039 starts on the service.

More than one in three starts on the service (37%) have been supported into work^[1].

73% of those who started a job sustained employment for at least 3 months.

81% of those who sustained employment for at least 3 months went on to reach at least 6 months in employment.

77% of those who sustained employment for 6 months went on to reach at least 1 year in employment.

Comparisons between Year 1, 2, 3 and 4

Referrals and Starts, including the 2,450 re-starts who had previously started on the service, remain high compared to levels seen in previous years, and especially when compared to the lower numbers of referrals and starts seen during Year 3.

From April 2021, with the extension of Fair Start Scotland beyond the initial three-year period, people who have previously received support can re-start the service.

Number of starts on the service

Year 1 - 10,063

Year 2 - 12,085

Year 3 - 10,359

Year 4 - 12,532

In Year 4, the total number of starts includes 2,450 re-starts to the service.

Number of starts on the service that started jobs^[2]

Year 1 - 3,258

Year 2 - 4,108

Year 3 - 4,917

Year 4^[3] - 4,163

Who is using Fair Start Scotland? ^[4,5]

63% of those joining Fair Start Scotland reported having a long-term health condition.

44% of those joining Fair Start Scotland were disabled.

Proportion of disabled starts on the service

Year 1 - 55%

Year 2 - 44%

Year 3 - 32%

Year 4 - 47%

Proportion of female / male starts on the service

Year 1 -

• Female: 35%
• Male: 65%

Year 2 -

• Female: 37%
• Male: 63%

Year 3^[6] -

• Female: 40%
• Male: 59%

Year 4 -

• Female: 38%
• Male: 62%

Number and proportion of Minority Ethnic starts on the service

Year 1: 364

4%

Year 2: 739

6%

Year 3: 454

4%

Year 4: 805

6%

Parents^[7]

Fair Start Scotland has supported 8,348 people that were parents, joining for the first time, since it launched in 2018. In Year 4 (2021-22), 2,947 people (29% of all people starting for the first time in Year 4) were reported as parents.

Compared with Year 3, Year 4 had:

• A lower proportion of female participants
• A higher proportion of disabled participants
• A higher proportion of minority ethnic participants.

With the exception of refugees and participants that are care experienced, which remained the same compared to Year 3, Year 4 had a higher proportion of:

• Participants with convictions and lone parents.

Length of time unemployed before joining Fair Start Scotland

% Unemployed less than 6 months

• Year 1: 3%
• Year 2: 18%
• Year 3: 27%
• Year 4: 13%

% Unemployed 24 months or more

• Year 1: 36%
• Year 2: 41%
• Year 3: 21%
• Year 4: 54%

Early leavers^[8]

Where we have a complete picture 52% of starts on Fair Start Scotland left the service early.

Of the 52% of starts who left the service early:

6% moved on to positive destinations such as education or training

10% left the service for health reasons

13% left the service for personal or other reasons^[9].

The early leaver rate is calculated for those joining the service from April 2018 – September 2021 and includes the 1,339 re-starts during this period.^vii

53% of participants who joined in Year 1 left early and 47% of participants who joined in Year 2 left early, this increased to 52% in Year 3.

What people think of Fair Start Scotland^viii

Participant's overall satisfaction with the service has remained consistently high across each year of the service.

The Fair Start Scotland Year 3 Evaluation Report highlighted that: 95% of people feel they were treated with dignity and respect. (A 4 percentage point increase from Year 2).

82% of people felt the service took account of their individual needs and circumstances. (A 2 percentage point increase from Year 2).

84% of people felt the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing. (A 3 percentage point increase from Year 2).

83% felt they were in control of their progress on the service. (A 3 percentage point increase from Year 2).