Falkirk’s Integration Joint Board has agreed its annual budget for local health and social care services, alongside setting out the case for future transformation and change.

The £342m budget, approved at the Board’s meeting on 20 March, sets out how Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership will manage increasing financial pressures while continuing to deliver vital care and support to local residents.

The Board confirmed that a funding gap of £1.4m for the year ahead will be met through a one‑off use of non-recurring funding.

However, members also heard that a longer‑term budget shortfall of around £14 million is forecast over the next five years unless significant changes are made.

The papers presented to the Board highlight the pressures affecting health and social care nationally and locally. These include national pay awards, inflation on contracts, the rising cost of medicines, and increasing demand for services as the population ages.

The Scottish Living Wage increase to £13.45 per hour for adult social care workers will cost over £6m in Falkirk alone. Additional funding contributions from Falkirk Council of £1.3m will help to offset this shortfall.

The Board was also told these local challenges reflect wider concerns across Scotland, with recent analysis from the Accounts Commission highlighting that Integration Authorities faced a national financial gap of almost £450m in 2025/26.

To help balance future local budgets, Falkirk IJB has approved a package of savings and transformation measures worth more than £10m over the next five years.

These include changes to social care charges, which were subject to a public consultation earlier this year, and reviews underway of out of hours, bedded care, respite care, and care at home services, amongst others.

The Partnership’s Chief Finance Officer, Marie Keirs, explains: “The scale of change needed to allow us to continue delivering the support people need is widespread and challenging.

“Many people may need to experience change to the way they access support, but our end goal is to ensure that support continues to be available to those that need it.

“We hope our approach to transformation, financial sustainability, and our new strategic plan will help provide long-term stability and deliver the support needed in our communities.”

Alongside addressing the financial outlook, the Board received an update on work to replace the Partnership’s Strategic Plan. Early engagement is underway to shape the plan, which will set the strategic direction for the next 10 years.

People are being asked to register their interest for a range of engagement opportunities being planned later this year to help craft the plan.

To sign up for future updates, and to find further information about the process to develop the plan, people are encouraged to visit falkirkhscp.org/strategic-plan