Fair Start Scotland Evaluation Report - Year 6: Phone Survey with Service Participants - March 2026

Chapter Five: Service Experiences and Changes Over Time

Overall summary

This chapter looks at participants’ experiences of signing-up for support, experiences of “re-joiners” (those who have accessed Fair Start Scotland (FSS) support more than once), and the different types of pre-employment and in-work support participants were offered and took up. It also looks at how useful participants found different types of support and reasons participants left the FSS service.

The chapter focuses on experiences of participants from the 2023-24 cohort. It also includes analysis of how these participants’ experiences compared to those previous cohorts during the year after they first joined the service, in order to provide a comparison of experiences at the same point in their FSS journey. It is important to note in the 2023-24 cohort, time between when this cohort began receiving support (October 2023–March 2024) and when they were surveyed (June–July 2025) was longer than for previous cohorts (around a year and a half on average compared to around a year for previous cohorts). As a result, in some instances direct comparisons between cohorts could not be made.

Key Findings

• overall satisfaction with the service was high, with nine in ten participants reporting they felt treated with dignity and respect
• both pre-employment support and in-work support were considered highly useful by those who took it up, with at least three in five participants finding the support useful
  • types of pre-employment and in-work support which were considered particularly useful were help with job search activities and applications, support with an In-work Support Action Plan, financial guidance and specialist support for a physical health condition
  • participants most often reported being offered one-to-one appointments, a dedicated key worker or employability advisor, help with job search activities and applications and an Employment Action Plan. These were also the types of support which participants reported receiving the most
  • around two-fifths of participants reported meeting with their key worker about once a week, and a quarter reported meeting them once a fortnight according to their needs
  • over three in five participants who were employed, self-employed, or had worked in the last week at the time of the survey felt FSS had helped them to get their job
  • awareness that the service was voluntary was widespread, though some participants were unclear or believed it was mandatory
  • perceptions of the service were less positive among
  • those who had not worked in the last 5 years (compared to those who had worked in the last 5 years)
  • those who lived in areas classified among the 15 per cent most deprived (compared to those in areas classified among the 85 per cent least deprived)
  • participants with limiting health conditions (compared to those with no health conditions), and
  • early leavers^[15] (compared to those who were not early leavers)
• pre-employment support remained broadly consistent among the 2023-24 cohort compared to previous cohorts
• in-work support remained similar to the 2021-22 cohort, participants were most likely to be offered and take up support from a dedicated key worker, followed by one-to-one appointments with regular support and contact
• early leavers were less likely to say they left the service because they found work compared to those who completed the service, and more likely to say they left due to domestic or personal reasons, or because the service was not relevant to their needs

The research found some differences in reported experiences between cohorts, as follows:

• take up of in-work support was lower within the 2023-24 cohort compared to the 2021-22 cohort, and was closer to levels seen among the 2020 cohort
• some perceptions were less positive when compared to the 2021-22 cohort for example, the extent to which participants felt the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing
• while the majority of participants found having a dedicated key worker useful in both 2023-24 and 2021-22, this had reduced slightly in 2023-24
• fewer participants working 16+ hours recalled being offered in-work support in the 2023-24 cohort compared to earlier cohorts

Experience of joining the service

Experience of the sign-up process and awareness of the voluntary nature of the service

The process of signing up to FSS was designed to be accessible and voluntary. Participants could join the service either through a referral by JobCentre Plus, another organisation or through self referral. Once they had been referred, a local FSS provider invited them to take part and asked them to attend an induction meeting which explained what FSS offered and support available. Participants were also informed that whether they joined FSS or not would not affect any benefits they were in reciept of. If the participant agreed to take part in FSS, they would be assigned a key worker.

All 2023-24 cohort participants were asked whether they were aware that FSS was voluntary and what their experiences of signing up were like. The majority of participants (80 per cent) were aware that signing up for the service was voluntary, 12 per cent thought that they had to take part, and 9 per cent did not know. Minority ethnic participants were more likely than white participants to not know signing up was voluntary (19 per cent, compared to 5 per cent), particularly minority ethnic female participants compared to white female participants (22 per cent, compared to 4 per cent).

The majority (68 per cent) of all 2023-24 cohort participants reported that it was ‘very easy’ to sign up for the service (a rating of one on a scale from one to five, where one meant ‘very easy’ and five meant ‘very difficult’). Just 5 per cent found it ‘difficult’ (a rating of four or five). The survey did not include a follow up question on why participants found this difficult.

There was some variation across different demographic groups in views on the ease of signing up, as follows:

• participants who lived in areas classified as among the 15 per cent most deprived were more likely to rate the process as difficult compared with participants who lived in areas classified as among the 85 per cent least deprived (8 per cent compared to 4 per cent)
• male participants aged 50+ were more likely to rate the process as difficult compared to males aged 25-49 (11 per cent compared to 4 per cent)
• when looking at those who found the process ‘easy’ (a rating of one or two) or ‘difficult’ (a rating of four or five) there was no significant difference as a result of qualification level, or health limitations, whether or not a participant was a member of a priority family, an early leaver, or a re-joiner

Differences in sign up experiences between cohorts

The proportion of participants in the 2023-24 cohort who reported being aware that signing up to the service was voluntary has remained high, in line with previous cohorts. The proportion who thought that signing up was mandatory remained broadly consistent with the 2021-22 cohort (12 per cent and 10 per cent), higher than for the 2020 cohort (5 per cent).

Whilst the proportion of participants who found the sign up process easy remained consistently high across all cohorts (around four in five), participants in the 2023-24 cohort were slightly less likely to rate the process as easy compared to the 2021-22 cohort (82 per cent compared to 87 per cent).

Support received and usefulness

This section details the different types of support participants were offered and took up, and how useful they found this support. The support offered by FSS can be split into two categories: pre-employment support and in-work support.

Pre-employment support

All providers delivering FSS offer participants a level of support relevant to participants’ individual needs. This includes specific elements of support as detailed in the FSS Operational Guidance and the FSS Service Guarantee. These elements can be summarised as:

• one-to-one support from a dedicated key worker
• a formal monthly review with the key worker
• a quarterly distance travelled assessment and feedback with the key worker
• employability activities as detailed in the individual Employment Action Plan
• engagement with external, specialist or partner services as detailed in the individual Employment Action Plan
• access to work experience opportunities, mentoring and volunteering and appropriate monthly workplace reviews
• weekly job search activities as required by the individual
• employer engagement, including support for interviews and negotiations of reasonable adjustments
• financial guidance

In addition, if through engagement with a participant, a provider identifies that the participant requires specialist support to address a health problem, including professional help to manage mental or physical health conditions and wellbeing interventions, the service provider must contact the specialist supplier organisation on the day that the requirement is established to arrange an interview assessment regarding access to specialist support.

Types of specialist support include support for specific physical or mental health conditions, or for those recovering from drug/alcohol/substance misuse. It also includes support addressing barriers due to records of previous convictions and explaining models such as the Supported Employment Model for Disabled People^[16] and the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model^[17].

Figure 11 below shows the different types of support that participants from the 2023-24 cohort reported that they were offered and how many went on to take up that support. It also shows the types of support that participants can expect to be offered as part of the service regardless of their personal circumstances, and the types of support that participants can expect to be offered depending on their specific needs and circumstances.

A key type of support which all participants can expect to receive as part of FSS is the development of a personalised Employment Action Plan, reviewed on a monthly basis. This plan sets out agreed activities and timescales for helping participants to progress towards and into work. It includes: an assessment of current skills, employment history and, vocational training needs; employment aspirations; agreed activities for overcoming barriers to employment, including engagement with external services; and monitoring and review arrangements. An In-work Support Plan is also provided when a participant successfully secures employment.

Similar to participants in the 2021-22 cohort, participants in the 2023-24 cohort who were offered support most commonly reported taking up more generic, widely applicable types of support among the list they were provided in the survey: one-to-one appointments, a key worker or employability advisor, help with job search activities and applications, and development of a personalised Employment Action Plan. As shown in Figure 11, the most commonly offered support included one-to-one appointments (taken up by 78 per cent of those offered), dedicated key worker or employability advisor (taken up by 74 per cent of those offered), help with job search activities and applications (taken up by 65 per cent of those offered) and, an Employment Action Plan (taken up by 40 per cent of those offered).

Specialist support (e.g. for mental health, provision of a laptop/tablet, physical health, addiction, or language skills) was offered to fewer participants; reflecting that this support is offered based on specific needs.

Usefulness ratings were high across all types of support, from 63% for help with an addiction to around 70-80% for other forms of support.

Among the 2023-24 cohort, almost three in ten (28 per cent) participants reported they had a mental health condition and just over three in ten of those (32 per cent) said they were offered specialist support for a mental health condition through the FSS service. By contrast, 16 per cent of 2023-24 participants reported a physical disability, and of those, around one in five (19 per cent) reported that they were offered specialist support for their physical disability.

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D5d: Were you offered the following support to help you move into work as part of the Fair Start Scotland service? D5e: Did you take up this support? Base: All 2023-24 cohort receiving support (464). D6: On a scale of 1 extremely useful to 5 not at all useful, how useful would you say that each of the types of support your received were to you? Base: All who used the support type: key worker (346), one-to-one appointment (358), help with job search activities (299), Employment Action Plan (181), work tasters etc. (87), specialist support with mental health (45), specialist support with physical health (26), specialist support with an addiction (20), help managing finances (51), help with English language skills (25), provided with laptop/tablet (27)

The dark purple bars show the proportion of the 2023-24 cohort that did not recall being offered each support type, for example just under two in five (37 per cent) reported that they were not offered a personalised Employment Action Plan (although as mentioned earlier in this chapter, this is a standard offer to all FSS participants).

The types of support participants recall having been offered to them were as follows:

• female participants aged 50+ (98 per cent) were more likely to recall being offered a dedicated key worker compared to male participants under 25 (86 per cent), male participants aged 25-49 (84 per cent), male participants aged 50+ (84 per cent) and female participants aged 25-49 (80 per cent)
• those who reported a health condition that does not limit their everyday activities were more likely to recall being offered the development of a personalised Employment Action Plan, than those that reported a health condition that limits their everyday activities and those with no condition (65 per cent compared to 49 per cent for both)
• younger participants (aged 16 to 24) were more likely to recall being offered access to work tasters, work experience or apprenticeship opportunities (44 per cent) than any other age group (26 per cent aged 25-34, 23 per cent aged 35-49 and 25 per cent aged 50 and above)
• participants with national SCQF 1-5 level qualifications or equivalent were more likely to recall being offered support managing finances or dealing with debt compared to participants with a degree level qualification (32 per cent compared to 16 per cent)
• white participants were more likely to recall being offered support managing finances or dealing with debt compared to minority ethnic participants (27 per cent compared to 14 per cent). This was specifically white female participants, compared to minority ethnic female participants (36 per cent compared to 17 per cent)
• participants who lived in areas classified as among the 85 per cent least deprived were more likely to recall being offered a laptop or tablet compared to participants who lived in areas classified as among the 15 per cent most deprived (9 per cent compared to 3 per cent)^[18]
• male participants aged 50 and above and female participants aged 50 and above were more likely to have been offered a laptop or tablet compared to male participants aged 25-49 and female participants aged 25-49 (16 per cent and 13 per cent compared to 4 per cent and 4 per cent)

Looking now at the level of take up for various types of support, there were some differences across participant groups. Older participants (aged 50 and above) were more likely than those aged 25 to 49 to accept help with finances (66 per cent compared to 42 per cent). Participants aged 50 and above were also more likely to report receiving support through the development of a personalised Employment Action Plan compared to participants aged 25-34 (89 per cent compared to 72 per cent).

In Figure 11, the column on the right shows the proportion of participants who found the support useful out of those who took it up. Around three-quarters or more of those who took up each type of support from the 2023-24 cohort found it useful. Specialist support for a physical health condition and help with English language skills emerged as particularly useful to participants. It should be noted that findings on the usefulness of specialist support like help with an addiction, help with a physical health condition or help with English language skills are based on the small numbers of participants surveyed, given that relatively few reported they took up these types of support (as noted earlier, specialist support was relevant to fewer participants individual needs).

There were some differences across participant subgroups regarding the usefulness of support, as follows:

• in-line with the 2021-22 cohort, white participants were more likely to find a dedicated key worker useful than minority ethnic participants (76 per cent compared to 62 per cent). White participants were also more likely to find help with their job search activities and applications useful, as compared to minority ethnic participants (80 per cent compared to 66 per cent)
• consistent with 2021-22, early leavers of FSS were less likely than those who did not leave the service early to find a dedicated key worker useful (57 per cent compared to 73 per cent). Early leavers were also less likely to find one-to-one appointments useful compared to participants who did not leave FSS early (65 per cent compared to 80 percent)
• male participants aged 25 to 49 were more likely to find a dedicated key worker useful compared to male participants aged 25 and under (75 per cent compared to 58 per cent)
• older participants (aged 50 and above) were more likely to find the help with job search activities and applications useful compared to participants aged under 35 (85 per cent compared to 70 per cent). This is largely attributable to female participants aged 50 and above (93 per cent). Participants aged 50 and above were also more likely to find one-to-one appointments useful than participants aged under 35 (84 percent compared to 73 per cent)

Meeting with an employability adviser or key worker

Participants were asked how often they met with their employability adviser or key worker. Figure 12 below shows that most commonly participants met with their adviser or key worker about once a week, followed by once a fortnight according to their individual needs.

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D7f: How often did you meet with your Adviser/Key Worker? Base: All who received support from a dedicated adviser/key worker (346)

Although a small number of participants reported not meeting with an adviser or key worker, a higher proportion of participants who were offered an adviser or key worker did not meet with one in the 2023-24 cohort compared to the 2021-22 cohort (9 per cent compared to 4 per cent).

Participants were asked how they usually communicated with their adviser/key worker to receive pre-employment support. Figure 13 below shows communication via face-to-face was the most common method with eight in ten participants (80 per cent) having communicated in this way. This is an increase from 57 percent of participants who communicated face-to-face with their adviser/key worker in the 2021-22 cohort. Telephone communication via phone call was the next most common method (70 per cent), followed by email (49 per cent) and text messages (44 per cent). Only 5 per cent of participants usually communicated with their adviser/key worker by video conference call (e.g. Zoom or Teams).

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D7g: How do/did you usually communicate with your Adviser/Key Worker to receive pre-employment support? Base: All who received support from a dedicated adviser/key worker (364)

Differences between pre-employment support received over time

The various types of pre-employment support were received to a similar extent among the 2023-24 cohort, the 2021-22 cohort, the 2020 cohort, the 2019 cohort and the 2018 cohort^[19]. Take up of the development of a personalised Employment Action Plan is consistent with the 2021-22 and 2020 cohorts (84 per cent compared to 80 per cent for the 2021-22 cohort and 82 per cent for the 2020 cohort). However, it is lower than for the 2019 and 2018 cohorts where 89 per cent of participants recalled taking up the development of an Employment Action Plan.

Participants’ views about the usefulness of the pre-employment support they received were similar to previous cohorts - for example 75 per cent of participants within the 2023-24 cohort found help with job search activities and applications to be useful, compared to 79 per cent within the 2021-22 cohort.

That said, the 2023-24 cohort were less likely to find having a dedicated key worker useful compared to the 2021-22 cohort (71 per cent compared to 77 per cent).

The proportion of participants who recalled being offered an adviser or key worker, but did not meet with one in the 2023-24 cohort was higher compared to the proportion among the 2021-22 cohort and the 2020 cohort (9 per cent compared to 4 per cent and 5 per cent).

In-work support

Once a participant has moved into employment, they are entitled to up to 12 months in-work support^[20]. The provider will work with the employer and participant, as appropriate and determined by the participant, to identify the support required for the participant to start and sustain employment. Thereafter the provider will provide a period of in-work support, which has the ambition of supporting job retention/ progression in terms of skills and/or income. Participants have the choice as to whether they will access in-work support and may decide to take only certain elements of the support dependent on their individual needs. The following elements detail the range of support available:

• continued weekly contact with a dedicated key worker, reducing over time
• an In-work Support Action Plan detailing a timeline for workplace reviews with the employer and setting out future objectives
• support provided to the participant at their work induction
• financial guidance to the individual if necessary
• ensuring the participant is aware of changes to their benefit entitlement and that they are receiving all appropriate in-work benefit
• provide support to training at workplace (if necessary)
• giving information about travel options to and from work, taking into consideration the participants’ needs
• an exit plan for leaving the FSS service

Participants who are further removed from the labour market should be offered Supported Employment and Individual Placement and Support (IPS), to meet their individual needs and requirements.

In order to gather the most relevant insights, in-work support questions in the survey were only asked of those who were working at least 16 hours per week. Within this group in the 2023-24 cohort, 38 per cent recalled being offered any type of in-work support. This is a decrease compared to the 2021-22 cohort (54 per cent), however it is important to note for the 2023-24 cohort there was a longer gap in time between when participants were surveyed and when they started FSS, so some participants who were not in work when receiving FSS may have been in work at the time of the survey^[21]. The proportion of participants who recalled being offered in-work support is consistent with the 2020 cohort (43 per cent).

Figure 14 below shows the proportion of the 2023-24 cohort who were working at least 16 hours per week at the time of the survey who recalled they were offered and took up the various forms of in-work support, and how useful they found it. Similar to the 2021-22 cohort, participants were most likely to take up support from a dedicated key worker (26 per cent of all participants in work at least 16 hours a week and 81 per cent of those who were offered it), followed by one-to-one appointments with regular support and contact (24 per cent of all participants in work at least 16 hours per week, and 86 per cent of those offered). Due to very small base sizes it is not possible to comment on differences between groups of participants for those who were offered or took up in-work support. It is also not possible to compare findings between cohorts.

The proportion of participants who reported they were offered and took up in-work support is generally lower than pre-employment support, in line with previous cohorts. Perceptions of the usefulness of in-work support are high, similar to those for pre-employment support. Support with an In Work Support Action Plan and financial guidance was felt to be most useful (both 100 per cent). This was followed by one-to-one apppointments with regular support and contact (97 per cent). It should be noted that results on the usefulness of support types have small base sizes and should therefore be interpreted cautiously .

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D11h: Were you offered the following in-work support to help you remain in work as part of the Fair Start Scotland service? Base: All 2023-24 cohort who were in work 16 or more hours a week (192). D11i: Did you take up this support? Base: All 2023-24 cohort who were in work 16 or more hours a week (192). D11j: On a scale of 1 extremely useful to 5 not at all useful, how useful would you say that each of the types of support your received were to you? Base: All 2023-24 cohort who used the support type: key worker (45), one-to-one appointment (41), workplace inductions (15), In Work Support Action Plan (18), financial guidance (10), monthly reviews (17)

Overall views of support

The 2023-24 cohort were asked about different aspects of the support they received. The Fair Start Scotland service is built upon the Scottish Government’s key values for public services: Dignity and respect; Fairness and equality; Continuous improvement. To gather participants’ views about the support they received, the survey asks them to give their agreement with a list of statements based on these key values.

Figure 15 below shows that most participants had a positive attitude towards the support they received from FSS. Between 72 and 90 per cent of participants agreed that the service provided was consistent with the Scottish Government’s key values. Broadly consistent with the 2021-22 cohort, participants were most likely to agree they were treated with dignity and respect (90 per cent compared to 93 per cent).

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D13: To what extent do you agree with the following statements about the support you have received. Base: All 2023-24 cohort receiving support (464)

There were some differences in attitudes between demographic groups, as follows:

• in-line with the 2021-22 cohort, those who had not worked in the last 5 years were less likely to agree that the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing (65 per cent compared to 77 per cent among those who had worked in the last 5 years). They also were less likely to agree they were treated with dignity and respect (85 per compared to 91 per cent)
• participants who lived in areas classified as among the 15 per cent most deprived were more likely than those who lived in the 85 per cent least deprived to disagree that:
  • they felt the support took account of their individual needs and circumstances (19 per cent compared to 10 per cent)
  • they were in control of their progress on the service (19 per cent compared to 10 per cent)
• participants who lived in areas classified as among the 15 per cent most deprived were less likely to agree that:
  • they were treated with dignity and respect compared to participants who lived in areas classified as among the 85 per cent least deprived (82 per cent compared to 93 per cent)
  • they felt the service offered support to improve their quality of life and wellbeing compared to participants who lived in areas classified as among the 85 per cent least deprived (65 per cent compared to the 77 percent)
• female participants aged 25-49 were less likely to agree that they felt in control of their progress compared to females aged 50 or above (62 per cent compared to 81 per cent)
• male participants who had a health condition that limits their day-to-day activities were less likely to agree the service offered support to improve their quality of life and wellbeing compared to males who had no health condition (67 per cent compared to 79 per cent)
• participants who had a health condition that limits their day-to-day activities were less likely to agree the support took account of their individual needs and circumstances, compared to participants who had a condition that had no limitations on them (72 per cent compared to 88 per cent)
• participants who had a health condition that limits them were also less likely to feel they had choices about the type of support they received and could set their own goals, compared to participants who had a condition that does not limit them (73 per cent compared to 92 per cent)

Participants in the 2023-24 cohort were as likely to feel they were treated with dignity and respect compared to the 2021-22 cohort (90 per cent compared to 93 per cent), but less likely than the 2020 cohort (95 per cent).

Whilst satisfaction with the FSS service remained relatively high, participants in the 2023-24 cohort compared with those in the 2021-22 cohort were less likely to:

• feel the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing (74 per cent compared to 81 per cent)
• feel the support took account of their individual needs and circumstances (73 per cent compared to 80 per cent in the 2021-22 cohort)
• feel in control of their progress on the service (72 per cent compared to 81 per cent in the 2021-22 cohort)
• feel they had choices about the type of support they received and could set their own goals compared to the 2021-22 cohort (76 per cent compared to 83 per cent)

Views on further support participants would have liked to receive

Participants were asked an open text question about whether there was any other type of support that they wished they could have received from FSS to help them move closer to work. Most participants (67 per cent) felt there was no other type of support they would have liked to receive. This is lower than the 2021-22 cohort (73 per cent). Of those that did wish they could have received another type of support, only a small proportion of participants mentioned specific support types, with no primary gap identified in the offer.

The types of support participants would have wanted to receive include:

• more training courses (21 participants). One participant mentioned wanting to learn new skills because they could not do their previous job due to a disability. Types of training mentioned included training for construction, security, first aid, personal training, support with getting driving lessons, and generally better signposting towards relevant training courses
• help to get a job (17 participants)
• more personalised help (14 participants)
• for FSS to display greater consideration of participants’ health issues when offering support (11 participants). These participants did not recall being offered specialist support for a mental health or a physical health condition. Nine of these participants reported they had a mental health condition and 4 of these participants reported they had a physical health condition
• for FSS to provide more relevant employment opportunities (10 participants). Participants also mentioned wanting FSS to help with securing a work placement, trial or apprenticeship
• for FSS to be easier to get into contact with (9 participants)
• financial advice or support (9 participants). These participants did not recall being offered financial advice

Comparisons between demographic groups on their views on types of support they would have wanted have not been made due to small base sizes.

Problems or concerns with Fair Start Scotland

Participants were asked whether their provider had explained to them what to do if they have a problem or a concern about the service. Just over half of participants (51 per cent) said they did recall receiving this information, while over a third (38 per cent) said they did not recall receiving this and 11 per cent did not know. This is consistent with the 2021-22 cohort.

Participants with a degree or higher qualification were more likely than those with no qualification to report receiving this information (59 per cent compared to 50 per cent). Similarly, those who weren't early leavers were more likely to recall receiving this information (54 per cent) compared to early leavers (41 per cent).

Participants were also asked about whether they did experience any problems or concerns about the service during the time when they were receiving support. Just over one in ten (11 per cent) said they did have some type of problem or concern, consistent with the 2021-22 cohort.

Groups who were more likely to report that they had experienced a problem or concern about the service included:

• participants with a health condition that limited them (14 per cent) compared to participants with no health condition (7 per cent)
• participants who were not in work and left the service after completing pre-employment support (14 per cent) compared to participants in work and left the service after completing pre-employment support (7 per cent)

There were no differences in the likelihood of reporting a problem or concern by ethnicity, parental status or re-joiner status.

Reasons for ending engagement with Fair Start Scotland

Figure 16 below shows the proportion of 2023-24 cohort participants who were still receiving support and those who were not, including a breakdown of those who were registered on the Scottish Employability Tracking System (SETS)^[22] as having left the support early. As previously mentioned, it is important to consider the time that passed from the start of when the 2023–24 cohort received support to when they were surveyed, as this gap is larger compared to previous cohorts (approximately a year and a half compared to a year for previous cohorts). This longer gap means that findings about participants’ current status should not be interpreted as direct outcomes of the service, as these participants would have had more time to achieve different outcomes compared to previous cohorts.

Furthermore, a larger proportion of participants were no longer receiving support at the time of the survey, however this may be attributed to the timing of the survey rather than more participants leaving the service early.

Figure 16 shows that one in five participants were recorded as leaving the service early^[23], and most of these (17 per cent) were not working more than 16 hours per week at the time of the survey. While we can report these figures, we cannot conclude that leaving FSS early or working fewer hours was caused by the service. This is because the survey did not collect causal data and the longer time gap introduces two key limitations; recall bias, as participants may not accurately remember details of their engagement or reasons for leaving and attribution uncertainty, as other external factors during the gap could have influenced outcomes.

The proportion of participants not receiving support for both participants working and not working has increased compared to the 2021-22 cohort. However, this should not be interpreted as a decline in service performance, it is likely explained by the longer time gap between support and survey for the 2023-24 cohort compared to the 2021-22 cohort. For this reason, direct comparisons between cohorts have not been made. As noted earlier, early leavers make up a smaller proportion of the survey sample compared to the proportion they represent among all FSS participants. The overall early leaver rate for those joining the service from April 2018 to September 2024 was 49 per cent, yet only 102 early leavers were surveyed within the 2023-24 cohort. While this number is sufficient for meaningful subgroup analysis, findings should be interpreted with caution as early leavers remain underrepresented in the research.

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D1: Are you currently receiving support from Fair Start Scotland? And management information data on early leavers collected by FSS. Base: All participants for whom early leaver data was available (456)

All participants who had stopped receiving support from FSS were asked about why they left the service. Figure 17 below shows that the most common reason for participants having ceased engagement with the service were that they found work (31 per cent). The second most common reason, likely due to the longer time lag between when support was received and when participants were surveyed, was that FSS support came to an end (29 per cent).

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D4: Why did you leave the support service?^[24] Base: All 2023-24 cohort no longer receiving support (371)

Figure 18 below, shows responses from both participants who were recorded on SETS as having left the service early and those who were recorded as having completed the support service. Similarly for the 2020 and 2021-22 cohort, those who were recorded as ‘early leavers’ were less likely to say they left the service because they found work, than those who were recorded as completing the service (20 per cent, compared to 34 per cent).

As shown in Figure 18, there were some differences between ‘early leavers’ and other participants in the 2023-24 cohort: early leavers were more likely to say they left because of domestic or personal reasons (10 per cent compared to 1 per cent), because the service wasn't relevant to their needs (16 per cent compared to 6 per cent), because they had other caring responsibilities (7 per cent compared to 1 per cent) and because they started a course at college, university or a training centre (11 per cent compared to 1 per cent).

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. D4: Why did you leave the support service? Base: Early leavers from the 2023-24 cohort no longer receiving support (89), and Non-early leavers from the 2023-24 cohort no longer receiving support (282)

There were some differences between subgroups of participants, as follows:

• male participants aged 50 and above were less likely to have left the service because they found work (12 per cent compared to 36 per cent among male participants aged 25 to 49)
• male participants aged 50 and above were more likely to have left because FSS support came to an end (39 per cent compared to 12 per cent among male participants aged under 25)
• participants with a Higher or Advanced Higher qualification (or equivalent) were more likely to have said they left FSS because the service was not adapted to their needs (10 per cent compared to 1 per cent among those with a National SCQF 1-5 or equivalent qualification, and 2 per cent among those with a degree or above)
• participants with a limiting health condition were less likely to have left the service because they found work than those whose condition did not limit their day-to-day activities (18 per cent compared to 39 per cent), and were more likely to have left because their health deteriorated (13 per cent compared to 2 per cent whose condition did not limit them)

Whether Fair Start Scotland helped participants to find a job

Participants in the 2023-24 cohort who were employed, self-employed, or had worked in the last week were asked whether the support they received from FSS helped them to get their job. Figure 19 below shows that most participants (65 per cent) felt FSS had helped them to get their jobs, with a sizable proportion strongly agreeing (41 per cent). One-quarter (25 per cent) of participants in work or who had worked in the last week disagreed that FSS helped them to get their job, however this proportion could be linked to when participants completed the survey (approximately a year and a half after they started receiving support). Some participants may have been working in a job which they did not obtain through FSS at the time of the survey.

Parents were less likely to agree that FSS helped them to get their job compared to non-parents (57 percent compared to 72 per cent). There were no other notable differences between subgroups in the 2023-24 cohort.

Source: IFF Research telephone survey of FSS customers. A9 To what extent would you agree that the support you received from Fair Start Scotland helped you to get your job? Base: All employed, self-employed or have worked in the last week 2021-22 cohort (298) and 2023-24 cohort (218)