Four times as many, per head, waiting for a social care assessment or package in England than in Scotland yet the latter is ‘struggling?’

the amount of funding for struggling social care services.

Professor John Robertson OBA

BBC Scotland in their BBC Breakfast insert this morning has the above, essentially just councils doing what they do, ask for more money from central government.

Context?

Nope and certainly not this:

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

The number of people estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment for a package of care to enable them to live independently at home or in the community was 6,461 on 7 April 2025. The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 2,852 on 7 April 2025.

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-april-2025/

That’s a total of 9 313 ‘waiting for an assessment of their needs or for help to begin.‘

All things being equal, with 10 times the population, you might expect England to have around 100 000 on their waiting list , but:

From the Local Government Association in November 2024 (latest data I can find):

There has been increasing interest in the use of metrics relating to waiting lists and waiting times for adult social care assessment, provision of support and direct payments and reviews of support. This is particularly relevant in light of growing demand (over 400,000 waiting for an assessment of their needs or for help to begin) and increasing complexity of need.

Four times as many waiting for a social care assessment or package.

https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/understanding-management-and-monitoring-waiting-lists-adult-social-care#:~:text=This%20is%20particularly%20relevant%20in%20light%20of%20growing,help%20to%20begin%29%20and%20increasing%20complexity%20of%20need.

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8 thoughts on “Four times as many, per head, waiting for a social care assessment or package in England than in Scotland yet the latter is ‘struggling?’”

  1. One of (many) gripes that often arose on BBC QT in some English editions was how Social Care was neglected and so not fit for purpose whenever they were discussing the English NHS.

    One of the huge impacts that effected Social Care within the UK was Brexit where it was reported that it, as a UK policy, was “exacerbating pre-existing staff shortages due to a significant drop in EU workers“.

    Of course for the media in Scotland , Brexit can never be considered as having had a huge consequence for many of the negatives happening within the UK, especially for Scotland.

    Brexit negative consequences for Social Care within Scotland (and also elsewhere within the UK)…….

    “Some care providers have been forced to withdraw services in certain areas due to an inability to recruit enough qualified staff”.

    “These staffing pressures increase the strain on the wider NHS and could jeopardize the ability of care providers to offer places in nursing homes”.

    “The changes in status for EU workers could also lead to a loss of (their) rights and protection”.

    So really the BBC in Scotland’s immediate gut reaction is to once again blame the Scottish government, as do others.

    Yet there are external factors that contribute to the level of service in Social Care that are, as factors, totally out of the Scottish government’s control…..with Brexit being a classic and significant example.

    However it will always be, for the media within Scotland, a case of #SNPBAD……as the buck always must be seen to stop only with the Scottish government…and so absolutely no external considerations need be looked at by the media nor highlighted as having had an effect on performance and results of any public services.

    BTW if you watched the coverage of the Welsh By-election last night on SKY News and GB News you would not be surprised to hear how they both emphasised that:

    a) It was too close to call in predicting the result but they could say it was between Reform UK and Plaid Cymru.

    b) They also both emphasised that there was tactical voting going on.

    GB News had a reporter at the count who said , prior to the result, that she had heard the tactical voting was Labour voters voting for Reform UK to keep Plaid out and then Conservative voters voting Plaid to keep Reform UK out.

    Meanwhile also prior to the result, Jon Craig from SKY News, was also at the count and he said he had heard there was tactical voting going on in this by-election and that it was both Labour voters and the Conservatives voters who were voting for Plaid to keep Reform UK out.

    Basically the whole point of this was to then take away the anticipated victory from Plaid Cymru , as if they as a party could not win in their own right but needed other party supporters to vote tactically to help them and so hinder Reform UK.

    Also Plaid won by nearly 4000 votes so how was this then “too close to call” as a result……

    I suspect both GB News and SKY News knew that Plaid had won….as in the GB News studio, the presenter and guests were somewhat dejected long before to the result was announced….so then that suggested that they knew Reform UK had lost this by- election.

    Also is this now the new thing from the media.…as in if the party that they do not want to win , do then win, it will then be represented/promoted by them as a win only due to tactical voting only……..the problem for the media last night was that the result they really wanted last night was for Reform UK to win….

    SKY News were still at it this morning , as in speaking about tactical voting having obviously helped Plaid win…..so in other words no Welsh Labour voters were cheesed off by Labour and so then decided to vote Plaid as a preference.

    Here is how Sky News reported the win for Labour in the Scottish parliament by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

    “Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell has won the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

    “Mr Russell took top spot with 8,559 votes. The SNP placed second with 7,957 votes, with Reform UK closely taking third with 7,088 votes”

    “Mr Russell said the constituents had voted to “take a new direction” with his party”.

    Nowhere in their online article did they, SKY News, note that any tactical voting was done to allow Davy Russell to win that seat.

    Also in a SKY News online article today on the Plaid win last night they include a quote from Reform’s chair David Bull where he said “I’ve heard tales from Lib Dem supporters, even Tories, actually voting tactically for Plaid to keep us out.”..…so even the Lib Dems voted tactically for Plaid…..wow so many pro UK party voters deciding to vote for a party that wants Welsh independence.….

    Of course tactical voting never happens in Scotland does it Ha Ha….as in to keep the SNP out as opposed to voting the SNP in to then try to stop a pro UK party ….Ha Ha

    (How many times have we witnessed tactical voting by pro UK voters in elections within Scotland to try to stop the SNP winning a seat and so allow the pro UK party most likely to win then gain the seat…..but then UK media like SKY News promote it as being a resounding and decisive win for a Pro UK party ).

    The UK media always tries to tactically control the narrative on politics within their UK.

    Liz S

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      1. Who speaks for Scotland ?

        Within all of the UK media ?

        Hard pushed to name or write a list….we did once (many moons ago) have the Sunday Herald onside as an Indy newspaper and now we have The National….but no other media within the UK supports, promotes or defends Scotland over the one nation that most of them, as a media, are all from as Journalists and reporters…….and we know what that one nation , is do we not.

        That’s why we have an online media who at least speak up for Scotland.

        Like for example this blog ‘Talking Up Scotland.’….which is something the MSM and rogue media are mostly all loathed to do…..however they , as a UK media, are all too willing to do it for England….as in talk it up…even the supposed neutral UK PM Keir Starmer only wants to talk up England in his annual St George’s message online via ‘X’…….

        Rogues and chancers that the UK media…..aka fake news

        Liz S

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        1. *.and we know what that one nation , is do we not.

          .and we know what that one nation is , do we not.

          Ooops me punctuation is wrongly placed……yet again.

          Liz s

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  4. Perhaps I can add a personal experience to this conversation.

    My husband, who suffers from dementia as well as several life threatening medical problems, is at this moment spending his 7th day in a critical care elderly ward in Ninewells. He has been awaiting a care package since his last one ceased on this recent admission which was due to a bleed on the brain.

    His treatment there has been good and they have done all they can. We are told a care package is arranged for Monday. But, this morning at 7.30 he phoned me in distress having been told he was to be moved to Perth RI for tests.

    We are trying to find out, first, if this is true, and second – is he being transferred back to Ninewells today or not. The lines to the hospital are very busy and we’ve still not managed to get through.

    It does make me wonder, though, is he a statistic? Is he being transferred to juggle figures?

    Hopefully we will be able to find out soon.

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