Introduction

This accessibility statement applies to the Scottish Social Services Council Workforce Data website: data.sssc.uk.com

This website is run by the Scottish Social Services Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, and the AT Hive can help you find assistive technologies that work for you. 

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website and the documents on it are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement. 

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us at:

•  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or
• contact our Workforce Intelligence manager, Michael Docherty by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We’ll consider your request and will aim get back to you within 10 working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

 Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Scottish Social Services Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. The ‘non-compliances and exemptions’ are listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

 Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

 Website issues

• The contact form includes images without alt text though the identification of the images is vital to progression of the form. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
• Some pages contain tables that do not have appropriately marked heading cells. This means that appropriate context is not provided to screen reader users when navigating the tables. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
• Some pages contain text which is visually meant to be a heading but not programmatically marked as such. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
• On some pages list content is not correctly associated, either because they are not marked as list elements, the parent element has been overwritten or list items were not placed within a list parent item. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
• Some of the forms on the website do not have correctly associated labels. This particularly affects the contact us form, and the interactive data visualisations. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
• Breadcrumb links have no visual difference from inert breadcrumb text. This fails WCAG 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (A).
• Colour is used in many areas as the only differentiator of information. This includes links on some pages and across data visualisations such as graphs. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Colour (A).
• There are various colour contrast issues with text and text controls across the website with teal, green, and orange against white or grey combinations. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).
• The website is not built responsively and does not adjust to magnification or text size changes without causing clipping or horizontal scrolling. This fails WCAG 1.4.4 Resize text (AA).
• The website is not built responsively and does not adjust to magnification or text size changes without causing clipping or horizontal scrolling. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).
• There are various colour contrast issues with icons and focus indication across the website with teal and white, and green and white combinations. This fails WCAG 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA).
• The website is not built responsively and causes significant clipping issues when adjusting text spacings. This fails WCAG 1.4.12 Text Spacing (AA).
• For some elements such as dropdown navigation controls and tooltips on data visualisations these can only be accessed by hovering with a mouse. This fails WCAG 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA).
• A large number of elements across the website are not keyboard accessible which will significantly disrupt user experience. This includes navigation content, text size adjustment controls, document controls in the signed in area, contact form submission, and many of the data visualisation controls. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A).
• On the home page there is a latest news carousel which has no way to pause, stop, or hide the animation, and users cannot manually move through the carousel items. This fails WCAG 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A).
• There is no skip to content function on the website which will force some users to have to repeatedly tab through navigation content. This fails WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A).
• The focus order for the download and view options controls for each graph tile are not in the order that would be expected. The focus order for the "Link to this report" function in the interactive data visualisations section is not logical. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A).
• A large number of links across the site do not have accessible text names or use full URL text rather than something descriptive. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A).
• The site search is not available on some pages, such as the home page or registration data meaning there is only one navigation route. This fails WCAG 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (AA).
• Many elements across the website do not receive focus indication, this includes links, download links, and filter navigation and controls including checkboxes and radio buttons. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA).
• The "Link to this report" function in the interactive data visualisations section of the website creates a popup which does not trap focus. This allows users to navigate around the page now visually obscured by the popup box. This fails WCAG 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (AA).
• Some form elements do not have their labels correctly associated with the input fields leading to a lack of accessible names. This mainly affects the contact form and interactive data visualisations. This fails WCAG 2.5.3 Label in Name (A).
• There is a serious issue with this page that stops any keyboard users from progressing further than the first dropdown selection within the Area at a glance filters section. When a keyboard user tabs through the page, the last element they can focus is the unnamed dropdown arrow link in the first filter field, the next tab move reloads the page as if a user has confirmed a selection for that dropdown and clicked “Generate a new report”. Because a keyboard user can never get past this, they cannot get to content below that on the page or make any other adjustments to any other filter fields. This fails WCAG 3.2.1 On Focus (A).
• When a user makes a mistake on a form, there is no audible alert for screen reader users to announce an error has occurred. This fails WCAG 3.3.1 Error Identification (A).
• The contact form includes an object identification task without accessible alternative route, and the task itself is not keyboard accessible or described to screen readers. There is effectively no way for many disabled users to complete the form. This fails WCAG 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA).
• Several collapsible elements across content do not describe their collapsed or expanded state. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
• Many control elements and links do not have unique text names. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
• Pagination controls do not effectively describe their purpose. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
• Some form controls are not correctly associated and do not have accessible text names. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).

 Document issues

• Some PDF documents have significant tagging and structure issues that may make them harder to navigate and read for some assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
• Graph content present within documents and downloadable as SVG and PNG files uses colour alone to differentiate information.
• Some PDF documents contain images without appropriate alternative text descriptions. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
• Some text in PDF documents uses teal on white which fails contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA)
• Some Excel spreadsheets do not have document titles. This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A).
• Users should also be aware when downloading SVG or PNG files of graphs that for graphs with multiple pages of key items, the full key is not included in the download and users may have to download multiple images to get all key items.

 If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Feedback and contact information’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have made no claims of disproportionate burden.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

As an official statistics producer we make copies available of all our published reports and data sets going back to at least 2008. Most of these reports were published as MS Word documents or PDFs.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

As a result we do not intend to make changes to reports and data sets we published prior to that date. For example, we do not plan to fix Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2017 Workforce Data.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The Government Analysis Function provides advice and guidance to public sector producers of official statistics. They advise producers to publish reports in an accessible HTML format. They state that,

 “PDF and other document formats are a last resort for any new text based publications like statistical reports. Wherever possible publications like this should be made available in HTML.

 Reasons for this include:

- document formats will never be as accessible as HTML content

- search engines cannot look inside document formats – making content        harder to find

- document formats are harder to keep up to date than webpages because the editing

- process takes longer and sometimes the source copy of a PDF gets lost

- it can be difficult for users to tell if a PDF is out of date as search engines often take users directly to a PDF – when this happens it is not easy to find out if it is the latest version.” (page 21, Making Analytical Publications Accessible).

The current SSSC workforce data website was created and launched in 2013 and uses Joomla software for content management. Unfortunately, Joomla does not give sufficient support for us to create fully accessible HTML versions of our reports.

Because of this we plan to commission a new website in 2025/26 for workforce data. We intend the new website to be operational by February 2026. The new site will use a content management system that supports the creation of fully accessible HTML versions of our reports. The new site will include HTML versions of all reports published by us on the current workforce data website since 23 September 2018.

In addition to the Government Analysis Function advice on reports they also provide advice on publishing spreadsheets in an accessible format. We are working to ensure that all new spreadsheets published after August 2024 are accessible.  In 2025/26, we will revise all spreadsheets published between 23 September 2018 and 31 August 2024.

In terms of the website issues identified in the non-accessible section above we intend to address all of these when creating the new workforce data website in 2025/26.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17 October 2024. It was last reviewed at that time.

This website was last tested on 25/07/2024. The test was carried out by All Able Ltd.

A representative sample of pages of the website were tested along with a sample of the documents from each area of the website. Testing was composed of a mixture of manual, semi-automated and assistive technology testing.

Read more

Workforce Data and Registration Data

The SSSC has two main sets of data on people working in the social service sector in Scotland. The first is usually referred to by us as the ‘workforce’ data and the second as the ‘registration’ data. Before looking at these two data sets in more detail we begin with the definition of “social services”. The current legal definition is set out in the Public Service Reform Scotland Act in sections 46 to 48 and in schedule 12. The term “social services” defines:

         - all registered care services

         - and all local authority social work services

 Workforce data

The workforce data aims to cover all those working in the above two categories. A total of around 208,000 people at 31^st December 2021. The workforce data is a snapshot taken on one day in December each year of all those in employment on that day. It includes other professional groups such as teachers, nurses and occupational therapists as well as ancillary staff (e.g. business support) and auxiliary staff (e.g. catering staff in care homes) based in the services. The data set includes information on each individual’s employer, the service they are working in, the post they are in and some information about the individual themselves (e.g. age, gender). These data have been collected and published since 2008. They are published together in the official statistics annual social service workforce data reports which can be found here: https://data.sssc.uk.com/data-publications/22-workforce-data-report

The response rates for the key variables in the workforce data are published each year in the appendices of the annual workforce data reports. Around 97% of care services and all local authority social work services provide workforce data to the Care Inspectorate and/or SSSC each year. Information on gaps in the workforce data are also available in the report. From this year (2023) following the publication of the first annual registration report the workforce data report contains information in the appendices explaining key differences between the workforce data and the registration data.

The workforce like any data set has limitations. One is that the workforce data has no unique identifier for individual employees. This means workers in the sector cannot be tracked over time using this data and we are therefore unable to use it to look at the movement of the workforce. Another limitation is around the quality of the information provided on the qualifications held by the workforce and also on some of the equalities characteristics of staff.

Registration data

The registration data covers many of the same individuals working in the social service sector as the workforce data. It aims to capture all those in active employment in specific roles and services within the social service sector, where mandatory registration is in place. A total of around 168,000 people, roughly 80% of the sector’s total workforce.

The process of registering the sector’s workforce began in 2003 with the registration of social workers. Since then it has been gradually rolled out across most of the social service sector becoming mandatory for different groups of staff at different points in time (most recently support workers in housing support and care at home services in autumn 2020). Details of when registration became mandatory for differing staff groups can be found here: https://data.sssc.uk.com/registration-data

Certain groups and services are not captured by the Register. For example other professionals (such as nurses and teachers), ancillary or auxiliary staff and childminders. Unlike the snapshot nature of the workforce data the registration  data is updated on a daily basis by individual registrants and employers. Individuals required to register with the SSSC have a period of six months to make their application which means that the Register may not contain information on new employees until up to six months after they began in post. Time delays also occur with registrants or their employers not informing the SSSC in a timely manner about changes to an individual’s employment.

While the registration data may not give a snapshot of the workforce at a particular point in time it does have strengths that the workforce data does not have. For example the registration contains more detailed data on qualifications held by registrants than the workforce data does. It was because of this that it was used in the recent Workforce Skills Report published in autumn 2021 here: https://data.sssc.uk.com/data-publications/21-workforce-skills-report/272-workforce-skills-report-2020-2021

Another strength of the Register is that it contains a unique identifier for individual registrants which means that workforce movement can be examined using it. This was done most recently in a report on day care of children’s services published in June 2023, which can be found here: https://data.sssc.uk.com/data-publications/316-movement-of-day-care-of-children-registrants-report-2023

In addition the regulatory role of the register means that it is linked to data on complaints and investigations carried out by the SSSC regarding registered workers. A new annual report on this element is expected to be published later in 2023/24.

Conclusion

This short briefing sets out some of the key differences between the SSSC’s workforce data and its registration data. It also sets out some of the key strengths and limitations of each as well as how they complement each other. If you have any questions about this please contact us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read more

This page provides information on the numbers of people registered with the SSSC.

Read more

All content is available under the Non-commercial Government licence, unless otherwise stated. The following link will take you to the details of the licence: Non Commercial Government Licence (nationalarchives.gov.uk)

Read more