FOI REF: FOI-2023-1525
You asked
I would like to request statistics pertaining to the number of social workers in the UK from an African background, who are practising and not practising.
Aside from the summary of African social workers, I would like to request information on Social Workers from Nigeria who are either practising or not. It would be helpful if you can provide me with the data about where they are based - either in the City or in rural areas and what areas they practice.
We said
Thank you for your query regarding social workers in the UK.
We collect information regarding the occupation, country of birth, nationality and ethnicity of people in the UK through the Annual Population Survey (APS) a survey of people resident in households in the UK.
Although we publish information on these various characteristics, we do not hold analysis that combines the occupation with these other attributes.
It would be possible to request a tailored analysis of an APS dataset that does combine this information. However, please note that, due to small sample sizes, such an analysis would be unlikely to produce results of a good quality. If you wish to go ahead and request an analysis you can make a request by contacting our social surveys team. Please note that there would be a charge for this service dependent on the amount of time taken to develop the analysis and undertake quality and disclosure control processes.
Please also note, any such analysis would only identify those who are currently working as social workers, as we would only identify the occupation of those who are currently in employment. Although we also collect information on where people work, this information is limited to the local authority that they work in, rather than whether they are in an urban or rural area within that local authority.