FOI Request - Social Care Information 2018 - 2019

Request 101003748138

I would like to request the following data for the full financial year of 2018 – 2019

A. Social Care Referrals & Support for the stated period, please provide the total number of people referred for the following services due to medical conditions:

Occupational Therapy (OT) assessments
Home adaptations (e.g., ramps, stair lifts, wet rooms)
Social care support (e.g., carers, personal assistants)

B.  For each service, please provide the average waiting time from referral to:
The initial OT assessment
A decision on home adaptation approvals
The start of social care support

C.  Additionally, please provide the number of home adaptation applications that were:
Approved
Declined (including a breakdown of reasons, if recorded)

D.  For approved home adaptations, please provide:
The average waiting time from application to completion.

E.  Social Care Costs & Funding. Please provide the total council expenditure on:
OT assessments
Home adaptations
Social care support.

F.  Additionally, please confirm:
The number of people who had to self-fund their home adaptations due to not meeting council criteria.

G.  If OT assessments are funded as part of a block fund:
Please provide a breakdown of the block fund allocation for each service provided by the relevant service provider.

H.  If an internal breakdown does not exist, please confirm how decisions are made regarding the funding allocation for OT assessments.

I.  If no such review, assessment, or internal estimate of OT funding has ever been conducted, please explicitly confirm this.

To avoid ambiguity: Please do not respond stating that "individual service spending cannot be identified" unless the council has never reviewed, assessed, or monitored this allocation. If this is the case, I request explicit confirmation that no breakdown has ever been recorded.

J. Complaints & Appeals For the stated period, please provide the total number of formal complaints received relating to:
Delays in OT assessments
Being denied access to home adaptations or social care support

K.  Poor communication or lack of support from social care services for each complaint category, please provide the number that resulted in:
A formal apology
A successful appeal, where the original decision was overturned.

L.  Additionally, if any internal reports or audits have been conducted by the council on:
The impact of NHS delays on social care demand, please provide copies or summaries.

Response 14-04-2025

A. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

B. Not recorded. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held. 

However, a guide would be between 1-2 weeks from receiving the formal report.

C. Approved: 151

Declined: Approx 9. Reasons include;
The adaptation would not meet clients medium to long term needs
Issues with other aspects of property suchas access

D. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

E. In private properties  - £348,000

F. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

G. There is a fund for Community Equipment and a fund for private adaptations. Funding for Council properties and Housing Associations are separate and dealt with by those organisations.

H. Following an assessment from an OT, if an adaptation is identified as a potential solution, a formal report is completed and sent to the OT TL for authorisation. Large adaptations such as extensions would need additional authorisation. Each case is discussed based on agreed criteria for adaptation. A review of decision is available if the person does not agree with the decision.

I. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

J., K. & L.  Not held. This information is not held due to it being outwith retention schedule. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.