Key Points

Care home residents

Aged 65 and over

• In 2024-25 there were a reported 28,340 long-stay residents aged 65 and over in care homes in Scotland with local authority support. This is similar to the 28,730 reported for 2023-24.
• Among those long-stay residents aged 65 and over, 38% (10,780) were reported as self-funders receiving Free Personal Care (FPC) and/or Free Nursing Care (FNC) (together, FPNC) in 2024-25. This is the same proportion as in 2023-24 (when it was a reported 10,860 out of 28,730). Longer-term, the proportion has increased from a reported 34% in 2015-16.
• The majority (68%) of those aged 65 and over reported as receiving FPNC in 2024-25 received both FPC and FNC (7,300). The remaining 32% (3,480) were reported as receiving FPC only. These percentages are estimated to have remained the same for the last three years (from 2021-22 onwards). However, the percentage of FPNC recipients receiving both FPC and FNC has increased from a reported 63% in 2015-16. 

Aged 18 to 64

• In 2024-25 there were a reported 3,380 long-stay residents aged 18 to 64 in care homes in Scotland with local authority support. This is 2% lower than the number reported for 2023-24 (3,440).
• A smaller proportion of care home residents aged 18 to 64 were self-funders in receipt of FPNC payments, in 2024-25, than among those aged 65 and over. In 2024-25, 4% (a reported 140) of the long-stay residents aged 18-64 were self-funders receiving FPNC. This is the same proportion as in 2023-24 (also 4%, or a reported 150 residents out of 3,440).
• The majority of residents aged 18 to 64 (60%, or 80 residents) who were in receipt of FPNC in 2024-25 were reported to have received both payments. The other 40% (60 residents) were reported to have received FPC only.

Expenditure on FPNC in care homes

Aged 65 and over

• In 2024-25, an estimated £186 million was spent by local authorities on FPNC payments to self-funding care home residents aged 65 and over. This is an 8% increase from the estimated £173 million spent in the previous year.
• Of the total estimated spend in 2024-25, an estimated 77% (£143 million) was spent on FPC, and 23% (£44 million) on FNC. These are the same proportions as the previous year.

Aged 18 to 64

• In 2024-25, an estimated £2.4 million was spent by local authorities on FPNC payments to self-funding care home residents aged 18 to 64. This is a 10% increase from the estimated £2.2 million spent the previous year.
• Of the total estimated spend in 2024-25, an estimated 78% (£1.9 million) was spent on FPC and 22% (£0.5 million) on FNC. These are the same proportions as the previous year.

Care at Home clients

The number and percentage of Care at Home clients reported as receiving personal care in this publication may be higher than the actual underlying position. This is because some local authorities do not distinguish between personal care at home and Care at Home in general, and class all Care at Home as personal care.

Please also note that in 2024-25 three local authorities made changes to their reporting for numbers of Care at Home clients, and the number receiving personal care, that is likely to have affected the data they submitted for 2024-25. In all three there were increases in the numbers of clients they count as receiving Care at Home and personal care at home in 2024-25, in the number of hours of personal care provided, and in the associated spend, compared to the previous year.

There is more information in Section 3 and the data quality section.

Aged 65 and over

• In 2024-25 a reported 49,590 people aged 65 and over received Care at Home services. This is 2% higher than the estimated 48,520 in 2023-24.
• In 2024-25, of those Care at Home clients aged 65 and over, an estimated 47,560 (96%) received personal care services as part of their Care at Home package. This is a 2% increase from the estimated 46,790 people in 2023-24.
• The proportion of Care at Home clients aged 65 and over who are estimated to have received personal care services has remained quite consistent since 2017-18, ranging from 94% to 96%.

Aged 18 to 64

• In 2024-25 a reported 17,710 people aged 18 to 64 received Care at Home services. This is a 6% increase from 2023-24 (an estimated 16,690). The number has also risen by 20% from the estimated 14,750 in 2018-19, which was the last year before Frank’s Law extended Free Personal Care to all adults assessed as needing personal care.
• In 2024-25, of those Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64, an estimated 13,480 (76%) received personal care services as part of their Care at Home package in 2024-25. This is an increase of 5% from the 12,840 estimated for 2023-24.
• Since 2019-20, around three quarters (between 76% and 77%) of Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64 are estimated or reported to have received personal care services as part of their Care at Home package. This compares to an estimated 72% in 2018-19 – the last year before Frank’s Law extended Free Personal Care.

Hours of personal care services provided to Care at Home clients

Note that two local authorities were unable to submit data on hours of personal care provided, and their missing data has not been estimated. Some of the other local authorities have difficulties in tracking the hours of personal care provided through certain kinds of self-directed support (SDS).

Please also note that in 2024-25 three local authorities made changes to their reporting for Care at Home clients, including those receiving personal care, that is likely to have affected the data they submitted for 2024-25. In all three there were increases in the numbers of clients they count as receiving Care at Home and personal care at home in 2024-25, in the number of hours of personal care provided, and in the associated spend, compared to the previous year.

There is more information in Section 4 and in the data quality section.

Aged 65 and over

• In 2024-25, across the 31 local authorities who submitted data, an average of 10.3 hours of free personal care per week were estimated to have been provided to Care at Home clients aged 65 and over receiving personal care services. This is a 5% increase from the estimated average of 9.8 hours of care per week provided per client aged 65 and over for 2023-24 across the same areas. Please note: these estimates do not include data from Glasgow City.

Aged 18 to 64

• In 2024-25, across the 30 local authorities who submitted data, an average of 20.7 hours of personal care per week were estimated to have been provided to Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64 receiving personal care services. This is the same as was estimated for 2023-24 across the same areas. Please note: these estimates do not include data from Glasgow City or Scottish Borders.

Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64 were therefore estimated to have received approximately twice as many hours per week of free personal care (on average) than Care at Home clients aged 65 or over, in 2024-25. This could be related to the differing nature of care needs amongst younger and older adults who receive Care at Home support. However please also note that the calculation for number of hours of care per client have been calculated from two slightly different sets of local authorities for the two age groups.

Estimated expenditure on Free Personal Care at home

The following estimates of total expenditure are likely to be under-estimates of the true total spend. One reason for this is that three of the 32 local authorities were unable to provide estimates of spend on personal care. Their missing data has not been estimated. Another is that some other local authorities have difficulties reporting expenditure on personal care provided through some self-directed support (SDS) options, meaning their expenditure data may be an under-estimate.

The changes in estimated expenditure between 2023-24 and 2024-25 are likely to have been caused, in part, by reported changes to reporting processes in three of the 29 local authorities who submitted data in 2024-25. Please see the final bullet point below for more information.

There is also more information in Section 5 and in the data quality section.

Aged 65 and over

• Across the 29 local authorities which submitted expenditure data, an estimated £538 million was spent on free personal care services for Care at Home clients aged 65 and over in 2024-25. This is a 14% increase from the estimated £473 million spent the previous year, across the same 29 local authorities.
• This annual increase in estimated spend for clients aged 65 and over is higher than we have seen in other recent years. Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, estimated expenditure across those 29 local authorities rose by 6% (from £417 million to £443 million). And between 2022-23 and 2023-24 it rose by 7% (from £443 million to £473 million).
• Per client across those 29 areas, the estimated average annual expenditure on free personal care for Care at Home clients aged 65 and over who received personal care was around £12,400 in 2024-25. This is a 12% increase from the estimated average annual spend of around £11,100 per client across the same areas in 2023-24.

Aged 18 to 64

• Across the 29 local authorities which submitted expenditure data, an estimated £303 million was spent on free personal care services for Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64 in 2024-25. This is a 14% increase from the estimated £266 million spent the previous year, across the same 29 local authorities.
• This annual increase in estimated spend for clients aged 18 to 64 is higher than we have seen in other recent years. Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, estimated expenditure across those 29 local authorities rose by 9% (from £237 million to £258 million). And between 2022-23 and 2023-24 it rose by 3% (from £258 million to £266 million).
• Per client across those 29 areas, the estimated average annual expenditure on free personal care services for Care at Home clients aged 18 to 64 who received personal care was around £23,900 in 2024-25. This is a 6% increase from the estimated average of £22,500 per client across the same areas in 2023-24.

For both age groups

• There are several factors which may be associated with rising costs of delivering free personal care at home. In 2024-25, in addition to increases in the reported numbers of clients receiving personal care as part of a Care at Home package compared to 2023-24, and changes in the numbers of hours provided, changes in pay provision for adult social care staff to align with the real Living Wage and inflationary pressures on other service costs are likely to have been influential.
• In 2024-25 three local authorities made changes to their reporting for Care at Home clients, including those receiving personal care, that is likely to have affected the data they submitted for 2024-25. In all three there were increases in the numbers of clients they count as receiving Care at Home and personal care at home in 2024-25, in the number of hours of personal care provided, and in the associated spend, compared to the previous year. We are unable to quantify how much of the change in estimated expenditure for these local authorities is directly due to their changes in reporting processes. However, analysis of data from the 26 other local authorities which did not report changes to their reporting processes showed an overall increase in spend on providing personal care to Care at Home clients between 2023-24 and 2024-25. This increase in spend was larger than was seen between other years since 2021-22.