Coronavirus (COVID-19): isolate and support data - July 2021

Management information provided by local authorities relating to support to isolate and support for people during the coronavirus pandemic.

This document is part of a collection


Isolate and support data – latest management information covering the period 28 June to 1 August 2021

The Scottish Government provides local authorities with funding to support those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic and for those who need to isolate after being contacted by Test and Protect.

Monthly management information is now available providing data on:

  • proactive calls made by local authorities to cases or contacts who must isolate after being contacted by Test and Protect (as part of a national policy of support to isolate)
  • inbound contacts made to local authorities via direct local authority lines or the National Assistance Helpline, where people are looking for advice or support
  • support referrals made by local authorities to those in need due to having to isolate as a case or contact, or more generally because they are in need during the pandemic

Not every local authority provides every component of this data. This is based on information from between 30 and all 32 local authorities, depending on the component, and may be subject to revision by the local authorities.

Outbound proactive calls

People who are contacted by Test and Protect as needing to self-isolate can choose to allow their contact details to be shared with their local authority for support to isolate.

Local authorities made 33,066 successful initial calls during this period to ask people whether they needed support and to assess their support needs. Local authorities also made 3,177 successful follow-up calls to people during their isolation period to check whether their needs were being met. Out of all proactive contacts made by local authorities, 26,888 (74%) needed no support.

The initial calls should be made to unique individuals each time. The follow up calls are made to the same set of people as called initially where needed/consented to ensure they are receiving the support they need during self-isolation.

Inbound contacts

The public can also contact their local authority themselves, via telephone, email, contact form etc., to ask for help, advice, and support during COVID-19.

During this period local authorities were contacted 7,647 times with requests for information or support. In addition, there were 4,681 contacts to local authorities relating to Test and Protect, after an individual has been asked to isolate by Test and Protect as a case or contact.

These contacts may not necessarily be from unique individuals each time.

Support

From all contacts (proactive or inbound), 6,845 (14%) required information only. 

When support needs were identified, they included:

  • referrals to the Self-Isolation Support Grant: 9,911 (20%)
  • referrals for help and support with food: 2,025 (4%)
  • referrals for other financial advice: 1,832 (4%)
  • referrals for help with pharmacy deliveries: 249 (1%)
  • referrals for support with isolation e.g. befriending support: 138 (<1%)
  • referrals for transport to vaccination (local authority provision is only one aspect of a wider transport support service): 12 (<1%)
  • referrals for isolation accommodation: 18 (<1%)
  • provision of isolation accommodation: 11 (<1%)
  • 1,570 (11%) of the above referrals were made to the third sector.

Overall, from a total of 48,571 of all inbound and proactive contacts, information was provided or onward referral made in 21,041 instances. Referrals may be made to local authority teams or to partner organisations.

The percentages of each type of support are calculated out of the total successful contacts. Percentages may add up to more than 100% as more than one kind of support may be provided per contact, or less as not all contacts may require support.  Information about referrals to vaccination transportation and accommodation referrals and provision began to be collected in February 2021.

Further information

The next monthly update will be 12 October 2021. A spreadsheet of the data from 2 November 2020 to 1 August 2021 can be found below.

The data reported are management information based on a range of operational systems. While checks are completed before publication to ensure data robustness, due to the speed of reporting these data are not currently subject to the full range of processes and quality assurance that would be required for Official Statistics.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): isolate and support data - July 2021
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