Free Personal And Nursing Care, Scotland, 2020-21

Executive Summary

This Statistics Release presents the latest client and expenditure figures for financial year 2020-21, as well as for financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 for Free Personal and Nursing Care (FPNC).

FPNC includes Free Personal Care (FPC) and Free Nursing Care (FNC) payments, which are made to those receiving different types of care. More information about eligibility for these payments, and the care covered by them, is available in the definitions section of this publication.

This release presents information from a variety of sources to give a picture of:

• the number of people aged 65 and over that benefit from Free Personal Care (FPC) and Free Nursing Care (FNC) in Scotland
• the amount that Local Authorities spend on personal care services

Information on FPC payments to individuals aged 18 to 64 is available in the Extension to Free Personal Care publication.

Main points: 2020-21

Care Home Clients

• In 2020-21, there were 28,120 long-stay residents aged 65 and over in Care Homes in Scotland, 9% fewer than in 2011-12 and 8% fewer than in 2019-20, immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic
• In 2020-21 10,420 of these residents received FPNC payments, 7% more than in 2011-12
  • 6,870 self-funding Care Home residents aged 65 and over received both FPC and FNC payments in 2020-21
  • 3,550 self-funding Care Home residents aged 65 and over received FPC payments only in 2020-21

Care at Home Clients

• In 2020-21, 49,780 people aged 65 and over received care at home. 46,820 of these people received personal care services at home.
• People aged 65 and over receiving personal care at home received an average of 9.8 hours per week of care in 2020-21

Care Home Expenditure

• FPNC payments to self-funding Care Home residents aged 65 and over are estimated to have cost Local Authorities £127 million in 2020-21 - an increase from £107 million in 2011-12, but a decrease from £142 million in 2019-20

Care at Home Expenditure

• Local Authorities spent £433 million on providing and purchasing personal care services for people aged 65 and over living at home in 2020-21 – representing a long-term increase from £347 million in 2011-12