Social Care Services, Scotland, 2016

Key points

All of the figures presented have been rounded to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000.

• There were 59,780 people in Scotland receiving Home Care services in March 2016, a second successive reduction. These people received 676,500 hours of Home Care during the census week, the first decrease observed since 2011.

• In the financial year 2015-16, 126,800 people received Community Alarms and/or Telecare services; an increase of 3% compared with 2014-15.

• Councils are increasingly purchasing services from the private and voluntary sector rather than providing it themselves. In 2016, under half (48%) of Home Care clients received a service solely from their Local Authority, compared to nearly three-quarters (73%) in 2007.

• The number of people choosing a Direct Payment to purchase the services they require continues to increase, with 7,530 clients and an estimated £94.5 million spent during the 2015-16 financial year.

Figure 2 shows the trend in Home Care clients and hours provided in the last 10 years. The number of Home Care clients decreased for the second consecutive year. The number of Home Care hours (excluding 24/7 care) also decreased for the first time since 2011.

Figure 2: Home Care (a) clients and (b) hours provided during the census week, 2007- 2016

Note: 24/7 care has been excluded under the Home Care definition used since 2013. Two lines are provided in this chart for Home Care hours to provide comparability.
Source: Scottish Government Social Care Survey 2013-2016, Scottish Government Home Care Census 2006-2012

The number of people in receipt of Direct Payments has continued the same trend as previous years, increasing from an estimated 6,450 in 2014-15 to 7,530 in 2015-16 (Figure 3). Expenditure on Direct Payments has also increased, from an estimated £86.1 million in 2014-15 to an estimated £94.5 million in 2015-16.

Figure 3: Direct Payments ( SDS option 1), clients and expenditure, financial year 2006-07 to 2015-16¹

¹ Direct Payments totals include an estimate for East Renfrewshire council in 2014/15 and an estimate for Angus council in 2015/16 for Value of Payments only - see 5.5 (background notes).
Source: Scottish Government Social Care Survey 2013-2016, Scottish Government Self-Directed Support/Direct Payments Survey 2006-2012