Social care - personal assistants: current data sources and future work
Overview of key sources of data on personal assistants (PAs) in Scotland. The report supports the work of the Personal Assistants Programme Board and estimates the size of the personal assistant workforce in Scotland to aid with future workforce planning.
Data Source – Personal Assistants Survey, Self Directed Support Scotland (SDSS)
Data can be accessed via the SDSS website. The latest data on the PA Survey can be accessed directly here.
Background to data collection
In April 2022, the first-ever nationwide Annual PA Workforce survey was conducted with a particular focus on individuals working as PAs for persons aged 16 or older in Scotland. The survey was published by SDSS for the Personal Assistants Programme Board and funded by the Scottish Government.
The aim of the annual survey was to gain comprehensive insights into the PA workforce in Scotland to provide practical support to improve the situation and opportunities for PAs working in Scotland.
The survey was conducted online. The link to the online survey was shared through social media, the SDSS website and through the PA Network Scotland. Furthermore, a survey invitation email was sent to all 4,795 PAs who had applied, been approved for the Scottish Government £500 Thank You Payment for Personal Assistants for work conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and consented to be contacted.
Latest findings
A total number of 912 participants responded to the survey which makes up 19% of the known PA workforce in Scotland based on data from 2021 Scottish Government “Thank You” payment provided the number of applicants from each Local Authority area for a
£500 bonus offered for work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participation in the survey was optional, and none of the questions were mandatory. Therefore, the findings were based only on the response of the survey participants.
Of the 905 respondents who chose to answer the question, “Where in Scotland do you work right now?”, a total of 941 responses (regions) were selected. The following table shows total number of survey responders compared with PAs who received Thank You Payment (% PAs per capita).
| Local Authority | PA survey responses | PA Thank You Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 16 (1.70%) | 131 (2.73%) |
| Aberdeenshire | 73 (7.76%) | 352 (7.34%) |
| Angus | 18 (1.91%) | 164 (3.42%) |
| Argyll and Bute | 26 (2.76%) | 111 (2.31%) |
| City of Edinburgh | 60 (6.38%) | 281 (5.86%) |
| Clackmannanshire | 5 (0.53%) | 25 (0.52%) |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 61 (6.48%) | 233 (4.86%) |
| Dundee City | 15 (1.59%) | 112 (2.33%) |
| East Ayrshire | 41 (4.36%) | 110 (2.29%) |
| East Dunbartonshire | 31 (3.29%) | 82 (1.71%) |
| East Lothian | 20 (2.13%) | 90 (1.88%) |
| East Renfrewshire | 15 (1.59%) | 51 (1.06%) |
| Falkirk | 10 (1.06%) | 64 (1.33%) |
| Fife | 49 (5.21%) | 282 (5.88%) |
| Glasgow City | 102 (10.84%) | 373 (7.78%) |
| Highland | 35 (3.72%) | 238 (4.96%) |
| Inverclyde | 5 (0.53%) | 30 (0.63%) |
| Midlothian | 23 (2.44%) | 94 (1.96%) |
| Moray | 26 (2.76%) | 139 (2.90%) |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 7 (0.74%) | 50 (1.04%) |
| North Ayrshire | 17 (1.81%) | 94 (1.96%) |
| North Lanarkshire | 49 (5.21%) | 317 (6.61%) |
| Orkney Islands | 8 (0.85%) | 57 (1.19%) |
| Perth and Kinross | 63 (6.69%) | 250 (5.21%) |
| Renfrewshire | 16 (1.70%) | 103 (2.15%) |
| Scottish Borders | 39 (4.14%) | 319 (6.65%) |
| Shetland Islands | 9 (0.96%) | 75 (1.56%) |
| South Ayrshire | 13 (1.38%) | 44 (0.92%) |
| South Lanarkshire | 47 (4.99%) | 240 (5.01%) |
| Stirling | 13 (1.38%) | 48 (1.00%) |
| West Dunbartonshire | 14 (1.49%) | 102 (2.13%) |
| West Lothian | 15 (1.59%) | 117 (2.44%) |
| Outside Scotland | -- | 17 (0.35%) |
| Total | 941 (100%) | 4,795 (100%) |
The survey respondents were asked, “How many individuals do you assist or support in your role?,” to which 74% of PAs reported that they assist or support one employer one employer out of 814 respondents who responded to this question. On the other hand, 89.9% of the PAs whose applications were approved for the Scottish Government £500 Thank You Payment reported that they support or assist one employer one employer (with the average number of employers per PA being 1.14).
Benefits and Limitations of the data
Without any other research available this survey report would appear to represent the best estimate to date, of known PA workforce in Scotland. A key benefit of this report is that it gathered data from the PAs directly. When relevant, this report also compared the results of the survey with data from various sources including data from the Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2020 Workforce Data, the data from the Scottish Annual Population Survey 2020/21, Scottish Government data on PAs of adults who had been approved for the £500 Thank You Payment and Sheffield City Council Individual Employer Pay Scale Report: Survey & Interview Findings in 2021 (the only comparable data we have found on PA rates of pay in the UK).
However, the number of PAs who could have been eligible for the Thank You Payment but did not apply is unknown. Moreover, the actual number of PAs will be higher as PAs of children were ineligible for the payment. Therefore, these numbers may not be reflective of the entire PA workforce. Additionally, as a web-based survey low levels of digital literacy and/or access may have acted as a barrier to some respondents.
As the findings of the survey report reflect only the responses of the participants, therefore, the findings of the report lack generalisability as it does not assert representation of the entire PA workforce.
There is a recommendation to maintain a biennial survey, with the aim of supporting PAs with limited internet access and/or disabilities. The benefits associated with a longitudinal survey include the tracking of change over time to inform policy decisions.
Contact
Email: toria.fraser@gov.scot
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