Market Position Statement 2025 to 2040 for Services for Working Age Adults with Long-Term Needs - What Providers Have Told Us

Several MPS sessions have held with providers, primarily Supported Living providers to seek inputs to this Market Position Statement. Below is a summary of key issues and inputs from Supported Living providers:

• It is good that communication and engagement is happening with providers
• Supported Living is fast paced and growing as a sector • Need clarity of definitions of complex and specialist care
• Commissioners with providers need to break down complexity and specialisms further and skills and services required now and into the future
• Compatibility and matching of clients are key issues • Systems deem individuals ‘complex’ – people are not inherently complex
• There are too many inaccurate pen pictures and support plans – providers need better transparency of needs before placements are agreed
• Need to incentivise providers to step people down from high 1-1s, 2-1s, 3-1s and out of supported accommodation if they can – incentives for this are not there at moment. Providers still have core staff costs to cover and running costs
• There will always be new demand for supported accommodation and care given demand projections
• Providers wish to co-produce a model with the Council that looks at incentivising package reductions and step-down
• Need for different types of tenancies and different pathways for people to move into e.g. straight from in-patient stays, short-term stays, crisis interventions
• Need enhanced rates for social landlords
• Need more strategic planning across agencies to develop pipelines of supported living developments in association with Housing Associations, private registered landlords and developers.

Discussions between providers and the Council:

• Need to consider the split between accommodation and care and support costs
• Need to revise the approach to the brokering of Supported Living placements
• Need to reduce/ stop landlords and / or providers giving notice on vulnerable people’s packages at short notice
• We need to look at the ‘HOLD’ model where people with learning disabilities have their own home. Sheffield, for example, has a model of Supported Living for people with mental ill-health needs (Housing Association accommodation)
• Need the Council to bring forward capital and sites for new developments
• Supported Living providers need to be sustainable in Walsall - may be that we need less Supported Living providers who have more packages
• Continual review of demand and supply to determine new net growth of Supported Living required and of what type, location  and quality