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Market Position Statement 2025 to 2040 for Services for Working Age Adults with Long-Term Needs Commissioned And Provided Services

Supported Living 

Supported living can be defined as “Accommodation which is provided alongside care, support or supervision to help people with specific needs to live as independently as possible in the community”. 

Supported Living schemes are for adults with learning disabilities, autism, mental ill-health, physical, sensory impairments, acquired brain injuries and other needs. The service provides adults with a tenancy in their own home and focuses on increasing each individual’s independence and skills over a period of time.

The schemes can be either a group of single occupancy units clustered together or a scheme for tenants who live in a shared house. Within these schemes there is usually shared or ‘core’ support provided as well as 1-1, 2-1 support for individuals. All properties are tenancy based, and there should be no direct link between the adult’s tenancy and the provision of care from a specific provider.

Housing Benefit is at the heart of the funding of supported housing. In almost all cases, it provides the revenue stream covering the housing-related costs involved, i.e. rent and service charges.

In adult social care, this service is primarily commissioned via the Supported Living Framework which was originally procured in 2021. As of late 2024/ early 2025 there are 64 providers who have secured a place on the Walsall Framework and 33 providers with active packages of care and support. We are now working towards the replacement Supported Living Framework in early 2027.

We need to continue to grow Supported Living to meet demand within Walsall: appropriate services are sought for adults with behaviours that challenge. There is currently a lack of appropriate services in some parts of the Borough which leads to adults being moved further away from families and communities out of Borough. 

Supported Living is the highest volume commissioned service for working age adults with long-term needs commissioned by Walsall Adult Social Care.

Supported Living is a critical service that encompasses accommodation and care and support for individuals with eligible care needs.

  • As of April 2025, there were 320 clients receiving Supported Living commissioned by Walsall Council
  • There are 7 LOTS in the Supported Living Framework. Learning disability it the LOT with the majority of service users followed by mental health then physical disability, sensory support, social support and memory and cognition
  • the average weekly cost of Supported Living placements has increased over time, particularly for younger adults 18-64 years of age. The current average weekly cost of a Council commissioned placement for an 18- 64 year old placement is £1,491.46. For a person with a learning disability, the average weekly package cost of Supported Living is £1,943.65 a week. 

Many providers only have 1 or a few packages of care commissioned by the Council with the exception of 5 providers that have 57% market share combined.

Current challenges with Supported Living 

  • High proportion of high-cost packages with service quality an issue in some provision
  • Not always a clear distinction between the accommodation and support elements of provider provision: the preferred model is for a separation between a landlord and care and support provider
  • A lack of providers on the current Supported Living Framework to support the people with more specialist needs. This is because there is no significant difference in the commissioned specification between the LOTS which has resulted in some providers without the necessary skills, experience and training to deliver specialist support
  • Assessment / Support planning / Brokering processes and documentation do not always promote person centred and outcome focused ways of working
  • The location and quality of some Supported Living provision in Walsall is not where and what it needs to be
  • Some housing providers suggest insufficient knowledge and understanding on the part of some commissioners of the supported housing development and delivery process, key hurdles and milestones, the timescales associated with new build supported housing development and what needs to be in place in order to achieve a successful and sustainable approach
  • There have been recent hand-backs of packages and short-term notifications by providers of intention to close services leaving vulnerable people without a home sometimes and care and support from their provider. Part of the challenge is an absence of legal rights through a separate tenancy and the lack of transparency with provider and landlord and workforce instability caused by changes to international recruitment policies.

Shared Lives 

As of late 2024, there were 53 Shared Lives Carer Households and 61 Council service users supported in shared lives arrangements, including long-term, day opportunities and short breaks arrangements. The existing service primarily focuses on adults with learning disabilities. There is a review and project currently led by Adult Social Care to grow Shared Lives provision, recruit more Shared Lives carers and households and diversify provision to meet a variety of needs. 

Small Supports

 Small supports are an innovative way to shape and fund care and support for people with specialist needs. Referrals to Small Supports have commenced having recruited 3 providers. This Black Country-wide project is across 3 Councils, not just Walsall Council. There are 2 Walsall based providers, 1 of which has just received their first referral. 3 possible additional referrals are being discussed and there are 2 other potential providers in the application process. ISFs are being set up as the funding model around Small Supports. The intention is to make Small Supports mainstream within Walsall and for use by all service user groups as appropriate. Currently it is just for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Current service: 

  • Three small supports providers are officially approved: 2 are Walsall based and 1 is Dudley based
  • A robust application process includes a co-produced Development Plan for each provider which has been recognised as an excellent element of the programme boosting the focus on quality of care and continuous improvement and development
  • A number of referrals for Small Supports have been received. One provider has received a referral, has met the individual and is working towards supporting them to leave a long stay hospital bed. A second provider is working with a family carer looking at how their organisation can support the individual and their family using a Direct Payment
  • A Quality Framework has been co-produced which will provide a toolkit that is focused on person-centred quality checking. This includes how Small Supports are reviewed and uses the locally co-produced ‘I’ Statements
  • The Referral and Matching Protocols for each local authority are being designed and will then be embedded within local teams; work has also taken place with health teams.

Micro-commissioning of specialist packages of care and support 

There is a project led by Walsall Adult Social Care and in partnership with the ICB focussed on specific cases where there are joint funding arrangements. Recent work on micro-commissioning approaches to people with the most specialist needs includes:

  • National consultancy engaged to support practitioners to have the tools to have person centred conversations and identify outcomes for vulnerable adults with complex needs
  • Agreed that Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings (MDTs) are needed for clients with specialist needs
  • New support planning documents to support a new approach
  • A new Brokerage process is in development that will lead to more choice and control
  • Soft market engagement and procurement exercise to identify 4 providers able to support people with the most specialist needs (microcommissioning).

Pathways to Independence

Pathways to Independence Services- Enablement

Walsall Council has its own in-house enablement service based at the Goscote Centre that seeks to maximise people’s independence through individual assessment and support. It has the following assets and services: 

  • Sensory Room
  • AT room
  • Training Kitchen
  • Meeting Room
  • OT training room/facilities 

Services include:

 Living at Home Safely – looking at how a person is living in their home/ their understanding around home safety, for example, fire safety checks, information and advice and where needed additional use of AT and other lowlevel support where this may be of use to support independence.

Maximising Independence - looking at how an individual can increase their independence skills from a strength-based approach. Keeping the person safe at home and also when in the local community by utilising support via universal offers and local community groups. Tapping into the locality health and wellbeing plans that also help to keep communities and people safe, well and connected. Supporting relationships, personal safety and signposting as required.

Travel and Connectivity – looking at accessing local forms of transport such as support to access a bus pass, identifying alternative ways of getting around and supporting with Road safety. Full Independent Travel Training to ensure an individual can get to the places and people that matter to them.

Community inclusion - supporting people to access a range of universal local offers and introductions to those things where this will benefit the individual and their carer. Reducing social isolation and supporting with friendships/group activities.

Nutrition, diet, healthy eating and cooking - links into health action plans, GP well person checks and local community resources and clubs available for people to utilise. Support to access local shops as part of healthy eating and looking at budgeting, meal planning, meal preparation, safe cooking and storage of food 

Shopping - support to help a person to access local shops and observe how they interact and cope in these situations. Including online shopping, budgeting, planning and travel 

Money management – supporting with money, budgeting and safety. Help to understand letters and statements that come from the bank. Looking at bills and how to help keep on top of these. Support to make contact with utilities and how to complain if they are not satisfied with something they are purchasing or receiving 

E-Safety - Helping an individual to gain knowledge and skills to use the internet in a safe way. 

Assistive Technology - looking at technology and gadgets that support and maximise independence and skills that can be personalised to an individual. Consideration of self-serve options around assistive technology. Looking at apps and online resources/ support that can be accessed. 

An example of use of TEC is The Brain in Hand app which is designed to support adults who have autism, mental ill-health conditions, cognitive impairments and other needs. It offers personalised support, anxiety management tools, a daily planner, emergency support, access to strategies, progress monitoring, and remote connectivity. The app helps individuals manage their daily lives, reduce anxiety, stay organised, access coping strategies, seek emergency assistance, track progress, and connect with their support network. It promotes independence, well-being and overall quality of life. Another example of assistive technology is ‘Just Checking’.