SWR03 - Financial Savings 2024-25 - Reduce the Subsidy of The In-House Day Services
| Title | SWR03 - Financial Savings 2024-25 - Reduce the Subsidy of The In-House Day Services |
|---|---|
| Council Resource | Social Work |
| Aims and Objectives | Access to day services is based on assessed need and self-directed support arrangements agreed with the service user. There are currently 184 service users accessing day services. The charge applied to access day services, and other non-residential care services, is based on an assessment of the service user’s ability to make a contribution towards the cost of care services. The current charge for day services is as follows: • Older People Services £34.98 per day • Adult Services £36.45 per day It is proposed to increase the daily rate by £3.40. The revised charge for 2024/2025 would therefore be as follows: • Older People Services £38.38 per day • Adult Services £39.85 per day The projected increase in income is £0.040m per annum (SLC - £0.020m; IJB - £0.020m). The profile of the South Lanarkshire population is collated from the Office of National Statistics, the Scottish Government and the census and is reported through the Council’s NEXUS system. The following key observations are highlighted for context. • The uptake of services is monitored by age, gender, disability and race. • Over the last 5 years (2016/17-2020/21), South Lanarkshire population’s needs have changed. The population across all age categories has increased by 1.17% over this period. If this rate of growth continues it is projected that there will be a 2.95% increase by 2031. • The latest Mid-Year Population Estimate at June 2020 indicates that the population has grown by +3.1% over the past decade, and there are now 320,820 residents in total. Of this 17.3% are under 16, 62.9% are aged between 16 and 64 and 19.8% are aged 65+. There is an increase in the number of people living longer into older age. Levels of frailty and the number of people with multiple long-term conditions have increased. • Based on the 2011 census, 30.6% of the population identified as having one or more conditions ranging from deafness to a physical or mental health condition. • Currently there is no reliable base line data available in relation to the transgender population in South Lanarkshire, however, the Council is taking steps to amend monitoring to include this characteristic. • The 2011 census data shows that 95.4% of our community identify as coming from a White Scottish or Other British background, 1% identify as White Irish, 0.4% as White Polish and 0.8% as White Other. 1.6% of the population identify as coming from an Asian, Asian .Scottish, or Asian British background and 0.7% identify as from Other ethnic groups. • The 2011 census data informs the Council of the most up to date makeup of the community in relation to religion, belief, or none. 61.3% identify as Christian, 0.8% identify as Muslim, 0.7% identify as Other religions, 30.6% identify as no religion and 6.7% did not state. The figures from the SHS (2019) indicate that 54% of the adult population in South Lanarkshire now identify as Christian, a higher percentage than the Scottish average (where only 41% identify as Christian). A further 1% of the SLC population identify as following another religion (inc Muslim, Hindu). Looking at the trend in terms of religious belief the percentage of the adult population who identify as Christian or as having a belief has been progressively declining in South Lanarkshire (and Scotland) over the past 10 years e.g. back in 2009, 66% of the South Lanarkshire adult population identified as being Christian, and 4% identified as following another religion (inc Muslim, Hindu). • The mid-year population data (2020) indicates that 51.5% of the South Lanarkshire population were female and 48.5% male. In comparison to the population of Scotland as a whole, South Lanarkshire has a slightly higher percentage of females (51.3%) and a lower percentage of males (48.7%). • The latest figures from the Scottish Household Survey suggests that 97% of the South Lanarkshire population identify as being Heterosexual or Straight, while only 2% identify as being either Gay or Bisexual, this finding is in line with the Scottish average. The partnership provides its services based on need regardless of sexual orientation. Where there are LGB related issues these are considered in the planning stage for services so that they can be delivered in an accessible and sensitive manner. |
| Conclusion | The proposal is in line with the principles of the COSLA National Strategy and Guidance on Charges Applying to Non-residential Social Care Services and the Scottish Office Circular SWSG1/1997 which sets out the powers local authorities have to charge for a range of non-residential services. In line with previous years, the charging policy in respect of non-residential care services will also be amended to reflect the thresholds recommended by COSLA for 2024/2025, effective from April 2024. If the income of service users falls below this threshold, no contribution would be required. South Lanarkshire Council reviews this policy on an annual basis. Activities for both older people and adults can differ, and the original daily rate reflects the needs of the different client groups. The proposal to increase the daily rate by £3.40 is being consistently applied to adults and older people. Approved at the Council meeting on 21 February 2024. |
| Completion date | 21 February 2024. |
| Contact Email address | equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk |