Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times, Scotland, 2020-21

Executive summary

Due to data completeness, trends are based on the Local Authorities responding every year, so are for indicative purposes only and do not necessarily reflect national trends. See the Limitations of the data section for more information.

New clients receiving a community care assessment

• Rates of community care assessments for new older clients (65 and over) in the 16 local authorities responding every year, peaked in 2020 and then declined in 2021.
• Rates of younger clients (aged 18 to 64) receiving a community care assessment was considerably lower, less than 1 per 1,000 population, than for older people.

Clients receiving a new personal care service

• Rates of older clients (aged 65 and over) receiving a new personal care service increased, from 6.8 per 1,000 population in 2012, to a peak of 10.1 in 2018, before falling back to 6.7 in 2021 (Based on 15 local authorities).
• Rates of younger clients (aged 18 to 64) recorded as being new personal clients was considerably lower, less than 1 per 1,000 population, than for older people (Based on 20 local authorities).

Waiting times

• In 2020, there was a rise in the percentage of all adults waiting more than six weeks between first contact and completion of a community care assessment (Based on 14 local authorities).
• The percentage of younger clients in all eligibility criteria categories receiving a personal care service in less than two weeks, declined from 68% in 2019 to 56% in 2021 (Based on 20 local authorities).