‘Staggering’ 14% rise in Scots waiting for social care assessment in a year

Ministers have come under fire after the number of Scots waiting to be assessed for social care rose by a “staggering” 14% in a year.

New figures from Public Health Scotland showed that as of August 4 this year there were 7,438 people across the country waiting for a social care assessment – a rise of “just over 14%” from August 2024.

There was also a rise in the number of people who had been assessed and were waiting for a care at home package to be put in place.

As of August 4 this was 3,264, with this total up by just 2% from a year ago.

Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the Scottish Government “should be ashamed of this staggering rise in the number of people waiting for social care assessments”.

Hitting out at ministers in the wake of the figures, Ms Baillie added: “Thousands of Scots are stuck in limbo waiting for the social care support they need to live their fullest lives – it is causing misery for Scots and piling pressure on our NHS.”

While she said “the SNP has hopelessly failed to build the social care system Scotland needs” she vowed that Labour would “deliver a new direction”.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic Scottish ministers had promised to deliver a National Care Service – but the government had to ditch its plans due to a lack of support from opposition parties at Holyrood, councils, and trade unions.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton meanwhile said: “Under the SNP, more and more people are stuck in hospital, prevented from getting on with their lives.”

He added: “You can’t fix the NHS unless you fix care because the more patients are delayed in hospital, the longer people wait at A&E and the longer ambulances wait outside the front door.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton said that “only” his party was “focused on fixing care”, with the Lib Dem saying they had secured “millions” of pounds of additional spending as part of the most recent budget negotiations.

He stated: “This money can start unpicking years of damage caused by the SNP, but what the care sector really needs is a change of government.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are working tirelessly to improve the outcomes of people who either need or receive social care.

“The 2025-26 budget includes over £15 billion for the local government settlement and almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million.

“At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for health and social care also reached record levels.”

The spokesperson continued: “We are working with the health and social care sectors to understand the financial issues they are facing.

“The UK Government’s decision to raise employer’s national insurance contributions is one such challenge, costing the sector more than £84 million extra this year.”

However the spokesperson stressed: “Our priority at all times is to protect these vital services that the people of Scotland value and depend on, with local healthcare partners prioritising those with the greatest care needs.”