Findings

Profile of respondents

From an email list of 841 employees, a total of 250 people responded to the survey, providing an overall response rate of 30% (Table 1). The response rate differed between the local authorities, with the lowest response rate from the largest employing local authority (Local Authority C). Senior leaders and service or team managers included staff with role descriptions such as assistant director, head of service, strategy manager, and commissioning manager. Of the 132 registered professionals, there were 91 social workers and 42 occupational therapists. The non-registered social care professions group (n=56) included staff with job roles of social care practitioner, social care assistant, occupational therapy assistant, as well as students, and apprentices. A total of 23 people selected the ‘other staff’ category. These roles included brokerage staff; quality, strategy, and policy development staff; and roles linked to specific areas such as practice placements, lettings, business support, and financial benefits.