Chamber and committees

Information on Social Care Eligibility and Waiting times is collected and published by the Scottish Government, and includes the waiting times between first contact with services and the completion of a community care assessment. The latest data are publicly available via the following link: Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times, Scotland, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Many Local Authorities have reported difficulty in providing the information asked for in this data collection, which has had a significant impact on the robustness of the information available for analysis. We are working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to consider the future of this data and are developing plans to capture waiting times data within existing Social Care collections returned to PHS, aiming to make it more straightforward for partnerships to provide data, and in turn resulting in more complete and consistent data in the future.

For those able to provide data for 2020-21, around 58% of people aged 65 and over waited less than 2 weeks between first contact and completion of a community care assessment (based on 16 LAs) and 21% waited longer than 6 weeks. For people aged 18-64, just over half (53%) waited up to 4 weeks (based on 19 LAs) with 36% waiting more than 6 weeks. (See annex 3 of the tables which accompany the release).

On 2 January 2023, the number of people waiting for social care support assessment was 5,440. The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) shows that there were 4,122 waiting for a social care support assessment on 17 April 2023.

Please note:

• Scotland estimates are derived by summing the number of people waiting from the partnerships. This excludes one Health and Social Care Partnership who were unable to supply data.
• Figures are collected each Monday.

Source: Public Health Scotland, Social care – Demand for Care at Home services , published 25 April 2023.

Information on Social Care Eligibility and Waiting times is collected and published by the Scottish Government. This is publicly available via the following link: Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times, Scotland, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Many Local Authorities have reported difficulty in providing the information asked for in this data collection, which has had a significant impact on the robustness of the information available for analysis. We have been working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to consider the future of this data and are developing plans to capture waiting times data within existing Social Care collections returned to PHS, aiming to make it more straightforward for partnerships to provide data, and in turn resulting in more complete and consistent data in the future.

The Scottish Social Services Council, as the regulator of social care services, publishes an annual report on the social services workforce which can be found on their website here: Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2021 Workforce Data (sssc.uk.com) .

Their latest report shows that, at the end of 2021, there were more than 208,000 people working in the social services workforce.

There are more than 1,200 social care providers across Scotland, with local authorities responsible for providing or commissioning services. Local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships will wish to ensure that, in providing a range of services, their workforce planning arrangements take full account of the need to have safe and sustainable numbers of staff.

The latest figures published by Public Health Scotland show that, on 17 April, the total number of hours of social care support yet to be provided was 38,324.

On 2 January 2023, the number of people waiting for social care support assessment was 7,143. The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) shows that there were 6,706 waiting for a social care support assessment on 17 April 2023.

Please note:

• The demand for a package of care is unknown in advance of the assessment taking place, and some of the people being assessed will not need a package of care.
• Scotland estimates are derived by summing the number of people waiting from the partnerships. This excludes 3 Health and Social Care Partnerships who were unable to supply data.
• Figures are collected each Monday.

Source: Public Health Scotland, Social care – Demand for Care at Home services , published 25 April 2023.

Information published by Public Health Scotland ( Social care – Demand for Care at Home services ) provides the number of people waiting for a social care assessment, as well as the number of people who have been assessed and are waiting for a package of care. These figures, however, represent only a subset of unmet need.

Scottish Government analysts are considering options for increasing our understanding of the nature and level of unmet need in adult social care, and will continue to engage with external partners to develop appropriate approaches and deliver new insights over the coming months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

Information on the number of people receiving social care support has been collected by Public Health Scotland (PHS) and published as part of their Insights In Social Care publication since 2018. Prior to this, data was collected by Scottish Government through the Social Care Survey from 2013 – 2017.

Therefore, the change between 2016/17 and 2017/18 should be interpreted with caution due to the differences between data sources. However, PHS do produce an adjusted figure based on the same definitions used in the Social Care Survey that allows a longer term trend to be produced which has been used in the table below.

Data is available from 2014 onwards, as the same age breakdown is not available for 2013. Prior to 2013, there were separate surveys for Home Care and Direct Payments but no collection covering all social care services. Figures may not sum to all ages exactly due to rounding.

Table 1: The estimated number of people in Scotland receiving social care support by age, 2013-14 – 2021-22

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the average pay rates for social care staff across the private, public and third sector.

From April 2023, adult social care workers delivering direct care in commissioned services will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the Real Living Wage rate for the 2023-24 Financial Year.

These are the minimum rates of pay for these workers and many providers choose to pay more than these minimums.