New figures show a drop in the number of social services staff employed in England.

The number of staff employed on a whole time equivalent (wte) last year was 217,200 - a drop of 2 per cent since 1999 and 7 per cent fall since 1995.

Eight out of ten social services staff are women and about half of all staff work on a part-time basis. Seven out of ten staff are white, while 7 per cent are from black and minority ethnic groups and 22 per cent are of unknown ethnic origin. H

alf of all staff work in an area office or field work setting. One in four work in residential homes.

Data for individual authorities is available at the Department of Health website.