Last Updated on November 24, 2025
A new costing tool aims to simplify the cost of support for people with learning disabilities and autism who live in supported living homes. At least 150,000 people in England live in homes in supported living neighbourhoods where they also receive support. Until now there has been no independently verified way of establishing the cost of this support. Unlike the NHS, there is no recognised national fee for high quality, Care Quality Commission compliant supported living that offers value for money from public funds.
The Sustainable Supported Living Costing Tool aims to address this gap by proposing national fee parameters which are unique to supported living. The tool has been developed by the More Than A Provider collaborative, made up of six not-for-profit provider organisations, Dimensions, Brandon Trust, Certitude, Choice Support, MacIntyre and United Response, offering care and support for people with learning disabilities and autism of support for 13,000 people, worth over £650m each year. The group has worked with management consultant PPL to complete the research and calculations.
The rationale for the costing tool is explained in the report, A 'gloriously ordinary life': Securing the sustainability of supported living for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. The tool is customisable to enable local authority and integrated care board (ICB) commissioners to provider a shared, transparent benchmark for fees. Rates can be tailored to allow for local labour market conditions and it encourages a person-centred approach to commissioning which focusses on quality, experience, outcomes and social value.
Commenting on the launch of the new costing tool for supported living, Helen England, Chief Executive Officer at More than a Provider collaborative, Brandon Trust, said, 'The tool puts commissioners and providers on the same page, using a shared set of inputs. Every input is visible. Every calculation is clear. Commissioners can see how the fee changes if, for example, the National Living Wage or employer national insurance rises or if recruitment challenges in a local labour market require a higher starting rate.
'Commissioners can save agreed local templates so there is a consistent reference point for future reviews. Providers can use the same template to prepare proposals. Families can see the logic behind the final figure. People deserve consistent, trusted relationships with support workers who are skilled and valued. Fair fees are the foundation for this.'
Read the costing tool report and try the costing tool.
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