By Charlotte Webster-
The number of fitness-to-practise referrals handled by Scotland’s social services regulator has reached its highest level in the latest published figures, raising fresh questions about the pressures facing a workforce operating amid vacancies, complex caseloads and growing demand.
Figures from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) show that 4,836 fitness-to-practise referrals were received in 2024/25, up from 4,615 the previous year. That represents an increase of about 4.8 per cent and continues an upward trend from 4,122 referrals in 2022/23. The regulator closed 4,850 referrals during 2024/25, while 1,857 remained live at the end of March 2025.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
The figures need careful interpretation. SSSC referrals cover the wider registered social-services workforce rather than social workers alone. Social workers made up 6.16 per cent of the regulator’s open fitness-to-practise cases at the end of March 2025, compared with 3.8 per cent of the SSSC Register.
That indicates that social workers were represented in open cases at a higher proportion than their share of the overall register, although the regulator cautions that the figures are approximate and that workers can hold different roles and registrations.
There were 10,817 registered social workers in Scotland in 2025, according to the SSSC’s latest Register report. That number fell by 108, or 1 per cent, from 10,925 in 2024. The wider social-services workforce registered with the SSSC numbered more than 175,000 people.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
The regulator says the vast majority of registered workers practise safely and effectively. Across the entire SSSC Register, an average of about 1.03 per cent of registrants had an open fitness-to-practise referral during 2024/25.
However, a couple of insiders in the profession have told The Eye Of Media that there is a serious problem of professional competence among many social workers, with numerous worthy complaints being made against social workers on at least a weekly basis.
The proportion was remarkably stable, ranging from 0.99 per cent to 1.07 per cent during the year. However, the nature of the concerns provides a revealing picture of what regulators are being asked to examine. Among cases closed during 2024/25, the most common category was inappropriate behaviour at work, with 696 cases, followed by practice failings at 423.
There were also 185 cases involving behaviour outside work, 128 involving dishonesty and 67 involving health issues. These figures concern cases investigated and closed across the SSSC-regulated workforce, rather than social workers alone.
The rise comes against a difficult workforce backdrop. SSSC figures show that the vacancy rate for practising social workers in local authorities was 8.9 per cent in June 2025, with 551 whole-time-equivalent vacancies reported. Nineteen of 26 responding local authorities said vacancies were hard to fill, with a lack of applicants with relevant experience the most commonly cited reason.
Social Work Scotland has separately reported concerns about increasing workloads, recruitment difficulties, financial pressure and staff well being. Its survey of chief social work officers found that 97 per cent reported working beyond their contracted hours often or always, while 71 per cent identified budgets as contributing to organisational pressure or individual stress.
Scottish Government material has also identified high and increasingly complex caseloads, administrative workloads, and workforce shortages as challenges to achieving best practice. A survey cited by the Government found that 78 per cent of respondents identified high administrative workload among the least satisfying aspects of their work and 47 per cent identified high caseloads.
Those pressures may provide important context for the rise in regulatory concerns, but the available SSSC data do not establish that workload, vacancies or burnout are causing fitness-to-practise referrals. Establishing that connection would require further evidence linking individual referrals to working conditions.
The bottom line is that social workers have a job to do, and a very crucial one in British society. The duty is on individual professionals and their bosses to navigate whatever challenges come their way, in order to deliver an efficient service. Multiple fitness to practise referrals against social workers is very concerning, and brings the profession to much disrepute.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar