Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland: statistical summary February 2018
Experimental statistics release on the first nine months of Scotland's devolved employment services, Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland.
Work First Scotland Statistics
On 3 April 2017, referrals to Work First Scotland ( WFS), a devolved disability employment support service, began. It is one of two transitional services put in place before the introduction of Fair Start Scotland in April 2018.
Work First Scotland is a voluntary service, tailored to meet individual need. It focuses on helping participants achieve their full potential and move towards becoming independent. It also seeks to help support employers who employ disabled people participating in the service.
A total of 3,620 people joined Work First Scotland, as a result of 5,652 referrals made to the service during the period 3 April to 29 December 2017. This means 64% of those referred subsequently chose to participate.
3,545 of these people had a recorded start date on the service which fell within the same period. [3]
Work First Scotland Referrals and Starts
Table 1: Work First Scotland referrals and starts during the period 3 April to 29 December 2017, by quarter
| Table 1: WFS referrals and starts during the period 3 April to 29 December 2017, by quarter |
||
|---|---|---|
| Quarter |
Referrals |
Starts |
| 1 (3 Apr – 29 Jun 2017) |
2.343 |
1,409 |
| 2 (3 Jul – 29 Sept 2017) |
2,086 |
1,367 |
| 3 (2 Oct – 29 Dec 2017) |
1,223 |
769 |
| Total Q1–Q3 |
5,652 |
3,545 [3] |
Work First Scotland Participants
Work First Scotland participant information in this section is only about people who had a recorded start date on the service between 3 April and 29 December 2017, and is derived directly from data collected by WFS service providers. Total numbers of WFS participants in Tables 2 to 5 (3,566) differ slightly from those in Table 1 (3,545) because they are derived from separate administrative systems. Please see the Technical Annex for more details.
The statistics on type of long-term health condition are derived from information collected by service providers for service delivery purposes, whilst those on age, gender and ethnic group are derived from information collected for equalities monitoring purposes. All information is self-reported.
Table 2: Work First Scotland participants by age and gender, 3 April to 29 December 2017
| Table 2: WFS participants by age and gender, 3 April to 29 December 2017 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Group |
Female |
Male |
Unknown |
% by age group |
Total |
| 16-24 |
204 |
395 |
4 |
16.9 |
603 |
| 25-34 |
266 |
522 |
0 |
22.1 |
788 |
| 35-49 |
422 |
715 |
4 |
32.0 |
1,141 |
| 50-65+ |
371 |
655 |
1 |
28.8 |
1,027 |
| Unknown |
4 |
3 |
0.2 |
7 |
|
| % by gender |
35.5 |
64.2 |
0.3 |
100 |
|
| Total |
1,267 |
2,290 |
9 |
3,566 |
|
Table 2 shows that three in every five individuals (just over 60%) joining the service were aged 35 or over, and the distribution of age groups is very similar for both males and females. 17% of participants overall were aged between 16 and 24. Females accounted for just over a third of all those joining the service.
Table 3: Work First Scotland participants by type of long-term health condition, 3 April to 29 December 2017
| Table 3: WFS participants by type of long-term health condition, 3 April to 29 December 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Type of long-term health condition |
Number of all types of condition reported |
% of all types of condition reported |
| Mental health condition |
1,570 |
32.3 |
| Long-term illness, disease or condition |
864 |
17.8 |
| Physical disability |
847 |
17.4 |
| Other condition |
522 |
10.7 |
| Learning difficulty (for example, dyslexia) |
462 |
9.5 |
| Deafness or partial hearing loss |
171 |
3.5 |
| Blindness or partial sight loss |
147 |
3.0 |
| Developmental disorder (for example, Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger's Syndrome) |
142 |
2.9 |
| Learning disability (for example, Down's Syndrome) |
137 |
2.8 |
| Total |
4,862 [5] |
100 [6] |
Table 3 shows that almost a third (32%) of all types of condition reported by those joining WFS were mental health conditions. Long-term illnesses, diseases or conditons accounted for almost 18% of all types of condition reported, and 17% were physical disabilities. A learning difficulty accounted for nearly 10% of all types of conditions reported.
Table 4: Work First Scotland participants by number of types of long-term health condition, 3 April to 29 December 2017
| Table 4: WFS participants by number of types of long-term health condition, 3 April to 29 December 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Number of types of long-term health condition |
Number of WFS participants |
% of WFS participants |
| 1 |
2,535 |
71.1 |
| 2 |
771 |
21.6 |
| 3 or more |
243 |
6.8 |
| Unknown |
17 |
0.5 |
| Total |
3,566 |
100 |
Table 4 shows that whilst over two thirds (71%) of participants reported having one long-term health condition, around 28% of participants were recorded as having 2 or more conditions.
Table 5: Work First Scotland participants by ethnic group, 3 April to 29 December 2017
| Table 5: WFS participants by ethnic group, 3 April to 29 December 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Ethnic group |
Number of WFS participants |
% of WFS participants |
| White |
3,294 |
92.4 |
| Non-White |
126 |
3.5 |
| Unknown |
146 |
4.1 |
| Total |
3,566 |
100 |
Table 5 shows that over 3% of participants reported being from a non-white ethnic group.
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