Can I get social care support?

If you need support to live your life, there are lots of different types of support you can get.

Local authorities (councils) provide social care support in Scotland. Each council has rules about who can access this support. These rules are known as their eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria help councils decide whether your needs are high enough for them to provide support. The criteria can vary between council areas, although councils must follow national law and guidance when making decisions.

When you contact your council to ask about social care support, they will ask you questions to find out what you need support with – this is known as an assessment.

You can find out more in the next article how a social care assessment works in Scotland and how to prepare for it.

After they have done the assessment, the council will decide if you meet their criteria to get support through them.

Who can get social care support in Scotland?

Each council has different rules, but as a guide, they may look something like this:

People at critical risk or with urgent need

• If you are at critical risk or in urgent need, this means there may be an immediate risk to your safety.

• You may not be able to look after yourself without support, or do things like go to work or college, which limits your independence.

• You might rely on a family member or carer for help, but this is putting their health and wellbeing at risk.

• If you are at critical risk or in urgent need, you are likely to be eligible for formal social care support through your council.

People with substantial risk or high level of need

• If you are at substantial risk, this means there may be a significant risk to your safety.

• You might be able to do some things to look after yourself, but not everything you need to be able to do.

• If you are at substantial risk, you are likely be eligible for formal social care support through your council, but it might take longer to put in place.

People with moderate risk or moderate level of need

• If you are at moderate risk, this means there is probably not any risk to your safety.

• You may struggle to do some things to look after yourself, but can manage other things.

• If you are at this level, it is unlikely you will be eligible for formal social care support through your council.

People at low risk or with low level of need

• If you are at low risk, there may be one or two things you cannot do to look after yourself, or that you find difficult to manage.

• If you are at this level, it is very unlikely you will be eligible for formal social care support through your council.

Most councils publish their eligibility criteria for adult social care support on their website.

You can find your local council website here or you can ask Clara below for the right department and contact detail.

What if I am not eligible?

If your council thinks you are not eligible for social care support through them, they should still tell you about other types of support you could get, for example from community groups or charities. If you haven’t done already, contacting an Independent Support Organisation is a great start as they may signpost you or work with you to help you get the support you need.

Next steps

It is important to understand more about the assessment process, and how to prepare for it.

Read the next article to find out more: Assessment of needs

Your local Independent Support Organisation can help you understand if you are likely to meet the eligibility criteria in your area. They can also help you to find out about what other support you can get if you do not meet the eligibility criteria to get formal support through your council.

You can look for a local Independent Support Organisation using the Find Help search tool, or just ask our SDS AI assistant Clara to find one near to you or any other questions you have by opening a chat at the bottom of the page.