Professor John Robertson OBA

From Public Health Scotland – People requiring a social care assessment and care at home services published today:

The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 3,240 on 7 July 2025.¹

All things being equal, you’d expect the figure for England to be around 32 000.

From Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: July 2025 (latest data) published 3 July 2025:

From April 2024 to March 2025, 586,000 people received a local authority adult social care assessment in England, having not received local authority long-term support in the previous 12 months. As a population rate, this represents 1,280 people per 100,000 adults in England. In July 2024, there were 53,000 people assessed.²

On this basis, the waiting list for those assessed but not yet provided with a care package, in England, is around 33% longer than in Scotland. Remember that means more than 1 000 in Scotland not having to wait and around 10 000 in England waiting.

Sources:

1. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/people-requiring-a-social-care-assessment-and-care-at-home-services/people-requiring-a-social-care-assessment-and-care-at-home-services-29-july-2025/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/adult-social-care-in-england-monthly-statistics-july-2025/adult-social-care-in-england-monthly-statistics-july-2025