HC Deb 26 March 1973 vol 853 cc265-6W
Mr. Edward Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students entered professional social work training courses at the beginning of the current session; and how many of these were trainees sponsored by local authorities.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

318 students entered courses in Scotland, of whom 85 were on secondment from Scottish local authorities. The number of Scottish students on secondment to courses furth of Scotland is not readily available.

Mr. Edward Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons designated as social workers were employed by Scottish local authorities at the most recent date for which figures are available; what was the authorised staff complement on the same date; and what percentage of the social workers had the appropriate professional qualifications.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

At the end of 1971 the total number of local authority fieldwork staff, including headquarters staff, was 1,443, 45 per cent. of whom had a professional social work qualification. At that time the local authorities' complements for these staff amounted to about 1,600 posts but staff complements are not necessarily on a uniform basis and are constantly under review.