Self-directed support, Scotland, 2015-16

5. Comparison to Previous Year

This is only the second publication of data on self-directed support, following on from the 2014-15 report. In 2014-15, only 22 local authorities ^[9] returned data on all Self-directed Support options and these authorities represented the bulk of the analyses presented last year. As such, to allow for a direct comparison to this year, the following sections of this 2015-16 publication will report only on those 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support options in 2014-15. Please note therefore that figures for 2015-16 in this section won't necessarily match those quoted in earlier sections.

In 2014-15, there were 32,665 Self-directed Support clients in these 22 local authorities. This has increased by 37% (12,162) to 44,827 clients in the 22 local authorities in 2015-16.

5.1 Client Group, Assessed Needs and Support Mechanism

Figure 13 below shows the breakdown of clients by client group, comparing 2015-16 to the previous year. The largest client group in 2015-16 was 'Frail Older People' (33%), increased from 27% in 2014-15. In comparison, the largest client group in 2014-15 was 'Physical disability' but this decreased by 3% to 29% in 2015-16. Most other client groups were similar across both years, though there was a reduction in the 'Not Known' group, suggesting improved data quality, as well as increases in the 'Other' group.

Figure 13: comparison of client groups from 2014-15 to 2015-16

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

Figure 14 shows the percentage change in the proportion of clients by need - the type of assessed support needs that are provided for, from 2014-15 to 2015-16. Though personal care continued to be the largest need in 2015-16, there was a 5% decrease in proportion of clients with this need. There were also decreases observed in four other categories, most notably a 8% decrease in domestic care. Increases were observed across four categories, including a 3% in housing support.

Figure 14: comparison of support needs from 2014-15 to 2015-16

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

Figure 15 shows the percentage change in the proportion of clients by support mechanism. Though 'Local Authority' continues to be the largest support mechanism in 2015-16, there was a 9% decrease in the proportion of clients using this support mechanism. There was also a decrease in the 'Not Known' category which may suggest better data recording. Increases in the other four support mechanism categories were observed, most notably a 16% increase in the proportion of clients using a 'Private' mechanism. This may suggest new Self-directed Support clients are less likely to choose a local authority support mechanism rather than a private, voluntary or other option.

Figure 15: comparison of support mechanism from 2014-15 to 2015-16

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

5.2 Age and Gender Breakdown

There was a slight increase in the age of Self-directed Support clients in 2015-16 compared to the previous year. In both years, 2% of clients were <18, while 29% were 18-64 in 2015-16 (33% in 2014-15) and 68% were 65 or over (66% in 2014-15). However, Self-directed Support clients continue to be younger than the clients in the Social Care Survey as whole, where 75% are aged 65 or over.

Figure 16 shows that while the majority of those aged under 18 continue to prefer Option 1, there has been a decrease in the proportion choosing this option. While there have been increases in the proportion choosing each of the other options, most notably a 10% increase in the proportion choosing Option 2.

Figure 16: comparison of Self-directed Support option chosen by under 18's (2014-15, 2015-16)

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

Those aged 18-64 made similar choices to those made in 2014-15, with slight decreases in the proportion choosing Option 1 (2%) and Option 3 (3%) and slight increases in those choosing Option 2 (3%) and Option 4 (2%) as can be seen in figure 17 below.

Figure 17: comparison of Self-directed Support option chosen by people aged 18-64 (2014-15, 2015-16)

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

The older age group continued to overwhelmingly choose Option 3 in 2015-16, though there was a 2% decrease from 2014-15. Overall, there was minimal change in the choices made by the older group from 2014-15 to 2015-16; 1% decrease Option 1, 2% increase Option 2 and 2% increase Option 4.

Figure 18: comparison of Self-directed Support option chosen by people aged 65+ (2014-15, 2015-16)

Information refers to the 22 local authorities with full Self-directed Support option recording in 2014-15.

There continues to be more females (59%) represented amongst Self-directed Support clients than males, with no change to the overall proportions from 2014-15. This finding is consistent with the overall Social Care Survey. However, the distribution changes when broken down by age. The <18 group is mainly populated by male clients (65%) and this figure is a 2% increase on 2014-15. The 18-64 age group has a slight majority of male clients (53%) and this is a 1% increase on last year. However, the older age group are mainly populated by female clients (65%), the same figure as 2014-15, and as the older group make up 68% of all Self-directed Support clients, this weights the overall figure towards females.

Similarly, the gender distribution changes when looking at the Self-directed Support option chosen by clients. Male clients make up a small majority choosing Option 2 (52%) though this is 1% less than 2014-15. The number of females choosing Option 1 (54%) and Option 3 (62%) were the same in both years. Option 4 in 2014-15 was almost evenly split (51% female V 49% male), however there is an increased number of females choosing Option 4 compared with males in 2015-16 (54% female V 46% male).