Public performance reports
Community care
The Council Plan Connect outlines our outcomes for 2022-2027. Connect Outcomes should not be seen in isolation, they interact with each other and as we achieve success in one, we move closer to success in others. In delivering our vision to ‘improve the quality of life of everyone in South Lanarkshire’ our outcomes show how our work links with our partners including our Community Planning Partners.
For daily updates, stories, and what’s going on in your area, visit our information and news website South Lanarkshire View.
Each year we produce an Annual Performance Spotlights which summarises how we have performed in achieving our Connect Outcomes. To complement these we have created a suite of individual Public Performance Reports that focus on key areas of council business. This report outlines the performance in relation to our community care service and how this links to the outcomes of our ambition to ‘Improve health, care and wellbeing’.
Local councils have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess a person's community care needs and decide whether to arrange any services. Any assistance should be based on an assessment of the person's care needs and should take into account their preferences.
The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 protects the welfare, property and finances of some adults who are unable to communicate, or make, understand or remember decisions. This includes people with a learning disability, dementia, a mental health condition or a mental or physical health condition that prevents them from communicating.
The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 improved regulation and in turn standards of social care services. Codes of practice and registration requirements were introduced for social care employees along with regulation of services that required meeting a range of standards.
The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 introduced free personal care for older people and rights for informal or unpaid carers. The act created the right for carers to have a separate carer’s assessment. The act was amended by The Community Care (Personal Care and Nursing Care) (Scotland) Amendment (Regulations) 2018 to extend free personal care to people under the age of 65.
The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force in 2005, and placed duties on councils to provide care and support services for people with mental health conditions and to ensure that care and compulsory measures of detention can only be used when there is a significant risk to the safety or welfare of the patient or other people.
The Adult Support and Protection Act 2007 places a duty on councils to make inquiries if it knows or believes that an adult is at risk and it may need to intervene. The act gives greater protection to adults at risk of harm or neglect if they are:
- unable to safeguard their own wellbeing, property, rights or other interests
- who are at risk of harm
- more vulnerable to being harmed because of a disability, mental health condition, illness or physical or mental infirmity
The Social Care (Self Directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 legislates a change in the way in which assessment and care management and support planning is developed alongside service users and carers who need support, offering them choice and control over how their support needs will be met.
The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 provides the legislative framework for the integration of health and social care in Scotland. It requires Local Authorities and Health Boards to integrate adult health and social care services. The Integrated Authority is South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership (SLUHSCP). The Partnership’s activity is overseen by the Integration Joint Board (IJB).
The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 makes provisions for unpaid carers, including the identification of carer’s needs for support through adult support plans and young carers statements; the provision of support to carers; the enabling of carer involvement in certain services; the preparation of local carer strategies; and the establishment of information and advice services for carers.
Community care is the term used to describe the care and support arrangements that are available to support the needs of our most vulnerable people, whether by age, disability, or mental capacity. Social Work Resources provide and commission a range of services that ensure service users are supported to remain in their homes where possible.
A new state-of-the-art care facility, Blantyre LIFE, opened in March 2023. This model of health and care delivery has increased the range of choice and options available to support people to live well in the community. Patients with rehabilitation potential who no longer require in-patient treatment and have been assessed as clinically fit for discharge, can be supported within the Intermediate Care unit for a maximum of 42 days before returning home.
SW01 - Home Care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over
What this means
This indicator calculates home care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over. Home care is delivered in the client’s own home (including sheltered housing) and may include personal care, domestic help, laundry services, shopping services, and care attendant schemes.
Why this matters
Home Care is one of the largest expenditures in Social Work and as such is an important indicator. With the increasing shift in the balance of care to the community, any efficiency from councils could be usefully shared.
Our performance and how we compare
| Location | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | Are we improving? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | £31.58 | £31.52 | £37.10 | No |
| Scotland | £32.12 | £32.14 | £33.57 | No |
How we have performed in improving this public service
Home Care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over in South Lanarkshire increased in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23, with ranking dropping from 13 to 18. South Lanarkshire had the second highest cost per hour amongst similar councils in the comparator Family Group. Nationally, inflation, cost of living, and the living wage has resulted in increased costs for Care at Home providers, with living wage increases also leading to an uplift in rates. Locally, an uplift in rates for commissioned providers applied. In addition, the outcome of a job evaluation within the South Lanarkshire Council Care at Home service resulted in a rise in salaries for frontline staff.
SW04b - Percentage of adults supported at home who agree that their services and support had an impact on improving or maintaining their quality of life.
What this means
The Health and Care Experience (HACE) survey asks about people’s experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local healthcare services, and the care, support and help they receive with everyday living and caring responsibilities. GP practice lists are used for sampling to aim for a reasonably reliable result.
Why this matters
This indicator reflects the aggregate impact of local person-centred work to improve personal outcomes, focusing on what is important for individuals’ quality of life. It emphasises the increasing focus on personalisation of services, including the use of personal outcomes approaches.
Our performance and how we compare
| Location | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | Are we improving? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | 78.1% | 80.0% | 63.3% | No |
| Scotland | 80.0% | 78.1% | 69.8% | No |
How we have performed in improving this public service
Performance for this indicator declined in South Lanarkshire in 2023-24, resulting in national ranking decrease from 11 to 30. Nationally, there has been an overall decline in performance. There was also a decrease in participation in the HACE survey in South Lanarkshire from 25% in 2021-22 (7,457 responses from 29,748 forms sent out) to 21% in2023-24 (5,552 responses from 26,824 forms sent out).
Respondents are selected from a sample of people registered with GPs, a proportion of whom may not use Social Work services. The South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership (SLUHSCP) has launched Care Opinion, an independent online feedback service to enable people using our services to share direct feedback on their experiences.
SW04c - Percentage of adults supported at home who agree that they are supported to live as independently as possible
What this meansThe Health and Care Experience (HACE) survey asks about peoples’ experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local healthcare services, and the care, support and help they receive with everyday living and caring responsibilities. GP practice lists are used for sampling to aim for a reasonably reliable result.
Why this matters
This indicator reflects whether people who receive support feel that it helps them maintain their independence. Health and Social Care Partnerships need to provide community-based services that focus on enablement, prevention and anticipatory care that mitigate increasing dependence on care and support.
Our performance and how we compare
| Location | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | Are we improving? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | 84.2% | 82.2% | 67.2% | No |
| Scotland | 80.8% | 78.8% | 72.4% | No |
How we have performed in improving this public service
Nationally, performance for this indicator declined in 2023-24. South Lanarkshire also reports a decline in performance and a resulting drop in ranking from 9 to 29.
Home Assessment Teams, established in 2022, are providing short-term reablement and rehabilitation service to adults within their own home for a period of up to six weeks. During 2023-2024, 900 service users received support from the service, with 37% less care service required on completion of their reablement and rehabilitation supports.
SW04d - Percentage of adults supported at home who agree that they had a say in how their help, care or support was provided
What this meansThe Health and Care Experience (HACE) survey asks about peoples’ experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local healthcare services, and the care, support and help they receive with everyday living and caring responsibilities. GP practice lists are used for sampling to aim for a reasonably reliable result.
Why this matters
This indicator reflects whether people receiving support feel that they have choice and control over how that support is provided. The increasing use of Self-Directed Support (SDS) should mean that more people feel that they have more control over the type of support they receive.
Our performance and how we compare
| Location | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | Are we improving? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | 75.3% | 65.6% | 55.4% | No |
| Scotland | 75.4% | 70.6% | 59.6% | No |
How we have performed in improving this public service
South Lanarkshire reports a decline in performance in 2023-24, however, ranking has been unaffected at 27. Nationally there has also been a decline in performance.
In contrast to the HACE results, actual data on the number of Living the Life you Choose SDS assessments completed within South Lanarkshire did increase by 46% from 2,306 in 2022-2023 to 3,376 in 2023-2024.
SW04e - Percentage of carers who feel supported in their caring role
What this meansThe Health and Care Experience (HACE) survey asks about peoples’ experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local healthcare services, and the care, support and help they receive with everyday living and caring responsibilities. GP practice lists are used for sampling to aim for a reasonably reliable result.
Why this matters
This indicator illustrates the proportion of carers who feel sufficiently supported to continue in their role. Health and social care services need to be planned and delivered with a strong focus on the wellbeing of carers so that they can sustain the important caring responsibilities they have in the community.
Our performance and how we compare
| Location | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | Are we improving? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | 31.1% | 28.7% | 28.1% | No |
| Scotland | 34.3% | 29.7% | 31.2% | No |
How we have performed in improving this public service
South Lanarkshire reports a slight decline in performance and a resulting drop in ranking from 20 to 27. Nationally however, performance has increased in 2023-24.
Lanarkshire Carers successfully achieved Carers Trust Excellence for Carers Award in 2023 following rigorous assessment of their services Pan-Lanarkshire. Additionally, there was a 20% increase in the number of new carers identified by Lanarkshire Carers in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, with more people being able to access support than would otherwise be the case.
It is estimated that there are approximately 40,000 carers of all ages across the South Lanarkshire area. Carers’ support is provided in a variety of ways. Further information is available on the Carers pages of our website whilst South Lanarkshire’s Carers' Strategy outlines how carers are currently supported and future developments.
Lanarkshire Carers is commissioned by South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership to provide carer engagement, empowerment, and representation services along with dedicated information, advice, and a range of direct support to unpaid carers. The number of new carers accessing the service has been increasing year on years since 2021.
| Year | New carers | Accessing services |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | 912 | 3340 |
| 2022/2023 | 1113 | 3297 |
| 2023/2024 | 1398 | 3533 |
For more information about the support that Lanarkshire Carers provides, visit their website.
Action for Children is commissioned to support young carers. They raise awareness, identify and provide direct support to children and young people who look after or help to look after someone in their family. An annual increase in young carers has been experienced by Action for Children since 2021.
The Care Inspectorate is the independent scrutiny and improvement body for care services in Scotland. They make sure people receive high-quality care and ensure that services promote and protect their rights. All our care services are registered and inspected by the Care Inspectorate and you can view individual reports on their website. They currently inspect five themes.
The table below provides grades for registered South Lanarkshire adult care services in 2023/2024.
| Care service | Latest inspection | How well do we support people's wellbeing? | How well is our care and support planned? | How good is our setting? | How good is our staff team? | How good is our leadership? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clydesdale Care at Home Service | 24/05/2024 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| East Kilbride Care at Home Service | 19/11/2024 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| Hamilton Care at Home Service | 03/12/2024 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Rutherglen/Cambuslang Care at Home Service | 05/02/2025 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| David Walker Gardens | 11/11/2022 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| McKillop Gardens | 28/11/2024 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Meldrum Gardens | 18/01/2024 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Care and Support Service | 20/05/2019 | 4 | 4 | N/A | 5 | 4 |
Grades Guide: 1. Unsatisfactory 2. Weak 3. Adequate 4. Good 5. Very Good 6. Excellent
Those who come into contact with our services can now tell us about their personal experiences of our services via the Care Opinion website. The Comments and stories told by those who use our services will be carefully monitored and considered and any changes to our service delivery will be implemented and action taken accordingly in order to ensure we are responsive to the needs of individuals who use our services.
Follow the links to our website for further information about services for adults and older people and how to access them:
Equipment adaptations and occupational therapy
Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. There are several factors that present specific challenges to Social Work Resources in relation to the demand for key service provision. In the coming year Social Work Resources will take forward all necessary actions, where reasonable and appropriate, to mitigate or reduce the Resource's exposure to these risks. More information on performance and actions relating to community care can be found in the Social Work Resource Plan, the Chief Social Work Officer Report, and the IJB Annual Performance Report.
Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Priorities are prepared. See Quarter 2 (September) and Quarter 4 (March - year end) for performance reports for further information.
More information on our outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.
Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.
The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2025).
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