Scotland's Devolved Employment Services: statistical summary August 2019

Fair Start Scotland (FSS)

The Scottish Government launched Fair Start Scotland (FSS) on 3 April 2018. It is a voluntary employability service that aims to support 38,000 people over a 3 year referral period. 

The service is designed to meet the needs of those who face a range of challenges in obtaining work, including people with a disability or health condition, people with convictions, care-experienced young people, single parents, refugees, ethnic minorities, and people who live in some of the most deprived areas in Scotland. More information about the service can be found here.

Tables 1 to 21 in the accompanying Excel tables refer to FSS data. Table 20 provides all national totals (see Figure 1) at Local Authority (LA) level, mapped to FSS Delivery Area. Please use caution in interpreting data at lower levels of geography, as numbers are small in some instances. A range of factors contribute to variations in totals across LA’s, and the caveats which apply to national data also apply^[2]

Figure 1: Overview of Fair Start Scotland, to end of June 2019

How many people joined FSS, to end of June 2019?

21,943 people were referred to FSS and 60% (13,061) of those joined. Figure 2 shows the number of people who started on FSS, from the referrals made in each quarter. 

The proportion of referrals joining the service has been increasing over time. 48% of those referred in quarter 1 of the service started on FSS, rising to 65% in the most recent quarter (April to June 2019). People who were referred towards the end of that quarter may not have had time to join the service by the end of the reporting period. This means that the overall start rate, as well as that for the most recent quarter, will be updated in the next publication.

Figure 2: Quarterly referrals and starts on Fair Start Scotland, to end of June 2019

How many people left FSS early, to end of June 2019?^[3] 

At the end of June 2019, 4,032 people (31% of those joining) had left FSS early. FSS is not a mandatory service, so people are free to join or leave the service whenever they want. People may disengage from the service (sometimes with no specific reason cited) for a variety of reasons depending on individual circumstances. Further analysis on the characteristics of those leaving the service in the first 6 months is presented in the first FSS evaluation report^[4]. 

How many people entered and sustained employment, to end of June 2019?

A total of 3,004 people had started a job. 1,328 of those people had sustained employment for at least 13 weeks and 649 had sustained employment for at least 26 weeks. So far, around three quarters of people who achieve 13 week job outcomes go on to achieve 26 week outcomes. See Tables 2 and 3 in the accompanying Excel tables for details. 

Of the participants who sustained employment, 88% (1,167) of those achieving 13 week outcomes had joined FSS during the first 9 months of the service, and 89% (576) of those achieving 26 week outcomes had joined during the first 6 months. The average length of time taken to achieve a 13 week job outcome is currently around 6 months, and 9 months for a 26 week job outcome. However, there are large variations in the length of time taken to achieve job outcomes, as many factors influence both the path and pace of individual participant journeys. 

Figure 3: FSS participants achieving 13-week job outcomes, as a percentage of those who joined, by month joined, April to December 2018

Figure 3 shows that participants who started earliest on FSS (and so have had most time on the service) have achieved the highest level of outcomes. At the end of June, 21% of starts who joined in April 2018 (having spent 15 months on the service) had achieved a 13 week job outcome, compared with 9% of those who joined in December (having spent 7 months on the service). Data for 26 week job outcomes can be found in table 3 in the accompanying Excel tables.

A 13 week job outcome rate, based on everyone who started during the first 3 months of the service, will be available in the next publication in November 2019. This rate will be updated to include those who started during the first 6 months in the publication after that, and so on. 

What do we know about the people who joined FSS and those who achieved job outcomes, to end of June 2019?

Gender and age

• More men (64%) than women (35%) joined FSS^[5]. This is reflected in the profile of people achieving both 13 and 26 week outcomes (64% men, 36% women).
• Participants aged 16 to 34 accounted for 38% of those joining FSS, but slightly higher proportions of those achieving 13 week and 26 week job outcomes; 45% and 43%, respectively. This pattern holds true for both men and women (Figure 4). 
• Participants aged 35 or over accounted for 60% of those joining FSS, but slightly lower proportions of those achieving 13 and 26 week job outcomes; 54% and 56%, respectively. Again, there is a similar trend for both men and women (Figure 4).
• Participants aged 50 or over achieved higher percentages of 26 week job outcomes (women 27%; men 28%) than 13 week job outcomes (women and men, both 25%) (Figure 4).  

Figure 4: Age and gender of those joining FSS and achieving 13 and 26 week outcomes, to end of June 2019

Health and disability

• 66% of those joining FSS reported having a long-term health condition. The proportions of those achieving 13 week or 26 week job outcomes who reported a long-term health condition were broadly similar (64% and 65%, respectively). 
• 52% of those joining FSS reported having a disability^[6] (note this calculation included 18% for whom disability is unknown). This percentage is slightly higher than for those reporting a disability who achieved 13 week (48%), and 26 week (49%) job outcomes (with 17% and 16% for whom disability is unknown, respectively). (Figure 5) 

• 37% of those joining the service reported having a mental health condition. The same proportion of those achieving 13 week and 26 week job outcomes reported a mental health conditon (Figure 6).
• Slightly higher percentages of people achieving both 13 and 26 week outcomes (56%) reported only one long-term health condition, compared with those who joined the service reporting one condition (54%). Coversely, slightly lower percentages of people achieving 13 and 26 week outcomes (9%) reported 2 or more conditions, compared to those reporting 2 or more conditions who joined (12%) (Figure 7).

Figure 5: Long-term health conditions and extent of limitation reported by those joining FSS and achieving 13 and 26 week job outcomes, to end of June 2019

Figure 6: Long-term health conditions reported by those joining FSS and achieving 13 and 26 week job outcomes, to end of June 2019

Figure 7: Number of long-term health conditions reported by those joining FSS and  achieving 13 and 26 week job outcomes, to end of June 2019

Ethnic group

• 4% of people joining FSS reported being from minority ethnic groups^[7] (78% white; 18% unknown). The ethnic group profile of participants achieving 13 week (4% minority ethnic; 82% white, 13% unknown) and 26 week (4% minority ethnic; 82% white; 14% unknown) job outcomes, is very similar to the ethnic group profile of those joining the service.
• Of all minority ethnic participants, 44% were women and 54% were men, compared to 34% and 64% respectively of white participants (Figure 8). Within age groups, the highest proportion of minority ethnic participants (6%) were aged 25-34, and the least (3%) aged 50 plus. 

Figure 8: Ethnic group and gender of those joining FSS, to end of June 2019