Earlier this year, plans to restrict the eligibility to social care to those deemed as being in ‘critical’ need to help address a massive overspend were dropped. The original plan was the result of measures introduced to tackle East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s (HSCP) multi-million overspend in 2025/26. Those changes had included the now shelved revised eligibility criteria, tighter oversight of care packages and a commitment to review existing support arrangements. Since 2024, East Ayrshire HSCP has provided statutory social care services only to people assessed as having critical or substantial needs. This current programme aims to ensure those eligibility criteria are being applied consistently across existing care packages.