How does the social care market currently operate in Scotland in terms of the services which are commissioned and procured? What are the gaps and pressures in the social care market? What are examples of good practice models?
Background
Statutory adult social care is overseen and administered by local authorities, who provide data on this provision. However, this data is complex, and at times non-comparable or incomplete. There is also a substantial portion of the population who may access social care support outwith statutory provision, through privately funding part or all of their own care, as well as receiving support from unpaid carers. These individuals are often invisible in datasets that seek to track social care clients.
We want to increase our understanding of who accesses what kinds of social care, where, when, and how. Understanding how people are accessing social care includes understanding how social care operates as part of the wider system of health and social care and where there are opportunities to strengthen access through further integration of services. This could include for example, evidence on the application of the GIRFE (Getting It Right For Everyone) principles.
Next steps
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Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Social Care Analytical Unit Areas of Research Interest 2026 2029 published 25 March 2026
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Related UKRI funded projects
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Carers Assessment Support
**A difficult time to care** Across the UK our social care system is more stretched than ever with increased demand and decreasing budgets. The lack of capacity in the system is placing additional pressures on the unpa...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: UPSTREAM OUTCOMES LIMITED
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on carer support and reforms in England, not specific to Scotland's social care market.
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University of Brighton and Guild Care KTP 23_24 R1
To develop a monitoring and evaluation framework assessing the social impact of adult social care interventions to inform service design and engage donors to invest in new care approaches....
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on monitoring and evaluation of adult social care interventions, not directly addressing the operations in Scotland.
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ProjectCare: Disrupting the Social Care Industry with a Platform to Consumer Model
The social care sector in the UK is best by crisis. Several, overlapping crisises are rolled into one. Local authorities are struggling to find adequate funding for social care, with their spending power reduced by over ...
Funded by: ISCF
Lead research organisation: SITEKIT CARE LTD
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it proposes a platform-to-consumer model for social care, but does not specifically address the current operations in Scotland.