Page 17 - Strategic Plan 24-29

FUTURE NEEDS

Our analysis of the major changes facing our communities is:

• The huge amount of housing developments across West Lothian are expanding

existing towns and villages (almost creating new towns) is bringing new people
and families into West Lothian (many of them more affluent).

• More new houses means more working parents, often with no family network
nearby, which will increase demand for childcare. This could be positive for us but
also lead to increased competition from private sector providers tapping into a

potentially lucrative market. There is also a lack of community facilities/suitable
accommodation in these areas though.

• Deprivation still exists and in many cases is getting worse, which polarises
communities, e.g. the SIMD ranking in Mayfield (Armadale South) is 45, putting it
among the 1% most deprived data zones in Scotland. Opposite this is a new

housing development, with housing worth £400K+.

• Poverty and disadvantage are getting worse, with more children in poverty.

• As well as poverty, another of the after-effects of Covid is the lack of socialisation
for many children and the impact this has had and will continue to have, on their
learning and development.

• Mental health and wellbeing are presenting greater challenges: more complex,
more severe and more marked.

• Awareness of neurodiversity has increased and is being given greater

consideration in terms of learning and services. This means that a wide range of
neurodiversity is more recognised but has led to an increase in demand for
support (often complex).

• We are seeing an increase in numbers with ASN as a result of public health cuts,
which have resulted in the loss of and less access to, previously available services.

We expect this need/demand to continue to increase.

• Public sector budget cuts are hurting and will continue to worsen. Councils are
legally obliged to provide statutory services, so cuts will continue to decimate non-
statutory services.

• We are already seeing increased demand and complexity of needs as a result of
cuts to public sector and other services, which we expect to continue to increase.

• Public transport, particularly local bus services, are poor and in some rural areas

almost non-existent. This impacts on access to services and results in more people
becoming trapped and isolated in some communities, if they do not have a car.

• Scottish Government plans to extend ELC and fund some access to childcare for
school age children (out of school hours and in the holidays) have still to be
worked out and may present some opportunities in the medium-term.