Independent information and support services funded by the Scottish Government: review findings

Annex 2: Service User Survey Results

Total number of responses

	N
People who hold/manage their own budget	59
People (Third Party) who hold/manage someone else’s budget	33
Total	92

Please note that not all respondents answered all questions and some questions gave respondents to select multiple answers, so the base number of respondents / responses varies from question to question.

Please tell us your relationship to the person whose individual budget you have responsibility for. (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
They are a child and I am their parent or guardian		5	5	5%
They are an adult and I am their parent or guardian		15	15	16%
They are my spouse or partner		1	1	1%
They are an adult and I am a relative (other than their parent) or friend		10	10	11%
Something else		2	2	2%
Manage Own Budget	59		59	64%
Total	59	33	92	100%

Did the person you act for already receive care and/or support paid for by the council before they got their current individual budget? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Yes	24	19	43	49%
No	29	9	38	43%
Not sure	3		3	3%
Other	2	2	4	5%
Total	58	30	88	100%

Which option do you use for the individual budget? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
I get my budget as a direct payment and buy care and/or support with it, for example by employing a Personal Assistant (Option 1)	48	14	62	70%
The council or an organisation of my choice holds the budget but I am in charge of how it is spent (Option 2)	2	3	5	6%
The council arranges the service (Option 3)		3	3	3%
I use a mix of the approaches above (Option 4)	4	9	13	15%
The final arrangements aren’t in place yet	3	1	4	4%
I have a budget but I don't feel I've been involved in decisions about it	1		1	1%
Not sure	1		1	1%
Total	59	30	89	100%

When you first contacted the support project, how long had you been looking for information or support? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Not long, I had just started looking	32	9	41	47%
For a while (up to 3 months)	7	5	12	14%
For a long time (longer than 3 months)	10	10	20	23%
Something else - please write in	9	5	14	16%
Total	58	29	87	100%

How did you hear about the support project? (Please tick all that apply)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N
Social worker	25	10	35
Another support or care worker	16	2	18
Internet	2		2
Advert/ poster/ leaflet		1	1
An event	3	4	7
GP
Health worker (like a health visitor or CPN)	2		2
Family member or friend	6	4	10
Other advice or information project		4	4
They had helped me in the past		2	2
They were helping me about something else at the time	1	1	2
Something else	7	5	12

What did you know about individual budgets when you contacted them? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Nothing at all	27	11	38	44%
A little	24	12	36	41%
A lot but was looking for help with something	7	5	12	14%
Something else		1	1	1%
Total	58	29	87	100%

Roughly how long have you been in contact with the support project about an individual budget? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Only a few weeks or months	10	8	18	22%
Up to a year	8	3	11	13%
More than a year	33	14	47	57%
Not sure	4	3	7	8%
Total	55	28	83	100%

What type of things have you been getting help with? (Please tick all that apply)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N
Applying for a budget	21	13	34
Being assessed by the council	14	13	27
Advice on which option I wanted to use (for example whether I wanted a direct payment)	27	17	44
Deciding on what type of care or support I want	25	16	41
Setting up the care package	26	13	39
Recruiting or employing a Personal Assistant	33	11	44
Paying people (payroll services)	33	11	44
A review of the budget	19	12	31
Information about other services	13	13	26
Help to access other services	12	7	19
Something else	9	3	12

How do you feel about the information and support you received? (Please tick the one that fits best)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
It made an enormous difference. I/we would have really struggled without it	29	20	49	58%
It made a big difference. It has really helped me	16	4	20	24%
It made a bit of a difference and made things a bit easier	6	3	9	11%
I don't think it made much of a difference			0	0%
It made no difference at all			0	0%
Something else	5	2	7	8%
Total	56	29	85	100%

Is there anything you would have liked help or support with but the project wasn’t able to help?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Yes	7	5	12	15%
No	40	18	58	73%
Not sure	6	4	10	13%
Total	53	27	80	100%

Are you still in contact with the support project?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Yes, they are still supporting me or giving me information and advice	42	24	66	79%
No, I’m not getting support or advice from them at the moment	13	5	18	21%
Total	55	29	84	100%

Have you also been receiving advice or support about the individual budget from anyone else?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Yes	25	7	32	40%
No	24	21	45	56%
Not sure	4		4	5%
Total	53	28	81	100%

Who else have you also been receiving advice or support from?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
Social worker	19	2	21	62%
Another care or support worker	2		2	6%
Family member or friend	2		2	6%
Other advice or information project	1	3	4	12%
Someone else - please write in	3	2	5	15%
Total	27	7	34	100%

What are the main reasons why the person who has a budget needs care and/or support? (Please tick all that apply)

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N
Alcohol or drug dependency			0
Autism	6	6	12
Being a carer	17		17
Being younger and needing support starting out		1	1
Deafness/hearing loss	3		3
Dementia	1	6	7
Learning disability or difficulty	12	17	29
Long term / chronic health condition	17	6	23
Mental health problems	11	7	18
Physical disability or mobility issues	30	13	43
Problems connected with ageing	4	3	7
Terminal illness	1		1
Visual impairment	4	7	11
Other type of disability or health problem	10	7	17

Do you act as a carer for someone other than the person whose individual budget you have responsibility for?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
No, I am not a carer	23	10	33	43%
Yes, I am a full-time carer for someone I live with	16	4	20	26%
Yes, I am a part-time carer for someone I live with	3	2	5	6%
Yes, I am a full-time carer but I do not live with the person I care for	1		1	1%
Yes, I am a part-time carer but I do not live with the person I care for	3	2	5	6%
Something else - please write in	7	6	13	17%
Total	53	24	77	100%

Please tell us which of the following best describes how you use the internet?

	Own	Third Party	Total
	N	N	N	%
I don’t use the internet	4		4	5%
It’s easy to get online and it’s easy to look for information	32	23	55	68%
It’s easy to get online but I don’t find it easy to use	8	1	9	11%
Someone helps me find things online if I need to	8	2	10	12%
Something else	2	1	3	4%
Total	54	27	81	100%