Introduction
Developing a strategy for housing for autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, is not something one department can do on its own. Many examples of housing options for autistic people and people with a learning disability involve multiple organisations and fundings streams as well as people and their families. Therefore, a strategy also needs to reflect the essential role of partnership working and the range of expertise, experience, and perspectives it can bring. Ideally, any strategy should be shaped by what we are referring to as a ‘housing partnership’.
A housing partnership can:
- Ensure the right people are in the room with the range of expertise needed to develop a robust housing plan.
- Support co-production and shared decision-making with autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, their families, and the wider community.
- Help identify local data and information held by different partners to avoid duplicating effort.
- Ensure buy-in of any plan, greatly enabling the delivery of that plan.
- Ensure that people’s housing rights and rights under the Care Act (2014) are understood and prioritised across teams and organisations.
Who could be part of a housing partnership?
Every local area is different, but some of the key groups that should be involved in the various stages of local plans for housing for autistic adults and adults with a learning disability are:
- Autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, family carers, representative groups, charities, user-led and community groups
- Senior local authority leaders and executives focussed on housing, social care, autistic adults and adults with a learning disability
- Local authority social services, occupational therapists, social workers, community workers and older adults teams
- Local authority housing and planning departments, housing benefits lead, disabled facilities grant lead, as well as finance/corporate resources that relates to housing and/or autistic adults and adults with a learning disability
- Senior NHS leaders, including those focussed on autistic adults and adults with a learning disability
- Local authority and NHS commissioners (covering all ages, including mental health, specialist learning disability and autism commissioners)
- NHS discharge teams, community health and occupational therapists and multiagency teams
- Elected members: County, Borough Parish or Town councillors
- Builders, planners and architects
- Social care providers
- Registered and unregistered social housing providers
- Property developers and property investors.
General advice and signposting
There are organisations that may be relevant locally that would be useful to speak to for general advice and signposting to key information, but who may not join a local housing partnership. These include:
- The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- NHS England’s learning disability and autism regional senior housing manager
- Mayoral Combined Authority housing strategy team.
Getting the right people in the room
Bringing together a local housing partnership can be difficult, both to initiate and to sustain. Local areas will already have some joint working and partnerships in place, but these can often be for specific delivery activities rather than wider prioritisation and planning.
To bring an initial group together requires leadership and time to be set aside for relationship building. Joint priorities should be established early so that everyone can see the overall aims and where they or their organisation fits in.
Attention should be paid to the language being used, including acronyms and jargon. Try to ensure all conversations are as accessible as possible to all groups.
Responsibilities and areas of expertise should be established so everyone can see how they can contribute to the strategy and what responsibility they will have.
Developing a long-term vision for the area can mean stepping away from day-to-day delivery pressures. Having a mixed perspective in the room can support people to think creatively about a housing future for the area.
Leadership
While a local housing partnership is pivotal in developing a housing plan for autistic adults and adults with a learning disability that meets the needs of the area, leadership is needed to ensure there is support and buy-in at a senior level, including the local authority and the Integrated Care Partnership.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) could support the setting out of next steps at a senior level and to demonstrate the ambition of any plan and the development of that plan.
Funding and resource to develop a strategy
Additional resource and/or funding is likely to be needed to develop an inclusive and implementable strategy. Local authorities that have undertaken or are in the process of undertaking these activities have applied for funding for a post to support or lead on this work. The toolkit can be a useful way to outline the activities that need to be undertaken and why they are important.
Vision and leadership example: The Greater Manchester complex needs project
As part of the Greater Manchester (GM) adult social care transformation programme, the complex needs project brings together commissioners, support providers and housing providers to develop the right support solutions for people. The project is led by the GM Directors of Adult Social Services
The overall aim of the project is to enable people to have the right support in the right place at the right time, and to live gloriously ordinary lives.
The foundations of the Greater Manchester complex needs project were extensively co-produced with people and families who have lived experience of learning disability, autism, and of using mental health services. This approach is embedded within the ongoing project.
Since June 2022, the project has supported 18 people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs to resettle from long-term hospital placements from across England, into nine newly created supported living properties in Greater Manchester. A further 14 people will move into new homes during 2025. Two small apartment schemes for autistic young people are being created in Manchester, which will open in 2026 and 2027.
Every new project starts with an understanding of where people aspire to live and with whom, their sensory and environmental considerations for housing, their health goals and support preferences. This person-centred approach keeps people at the heart of the project – and has led to more successful and sustained outcomes after people are discharged from hospital.
The overall approach is supported by a number of enablers:
- A Greater Manchester complex needs framework of nine great support providers, each appointed with different specialisms. People requiring different forms of support can be best matched to the most appropriate provider for them.
- A Greater Manchester housing provider agreement. This includes seven registered housing providers who have committed to developing the best kinds of supported housing for people being discharged through the complex needs project.
- A memorandum of understanding (MOU). The purpose of this agreement is to have clear, reciprocal arrangements across Greater Manchester local authorities and NHS Greater Manchester, for whenever support arrangements are commissioned through the complex needs project. The MOU clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the placing authority and host authorities. A copy of the MOU can be found here.
The fourth ‘enabler’ is the maturity and breadth of the relationships and leadership.
The project benefits from the unwavering support and leadership of the 10 Directors of Adult Social Services in Greater Manchester. It is hosted by an established Adult Social Care Transformation Team, led by Director Jo Chilton.
This quality of vision and leadership has been pivotal for the project leads to drive financially committed supported housing programmes with registered housing provider partners, which are choosing to develop great homes, in high quality areas where people want to live. It has also enabled project leads to negotiate supportive conversations with commissioners across Greater Manchester, on behalf of people seeking discharge so they can begin living in homes and places tailored to their preferences.
For further information:
Fiona Charnock, Senior Project Manager – Learning Disabilities, Autism and Complex Needs. Fiona.charnock@nhs.net
Debbie Simister, Senior Programme Manager – Learning Disabilities and Autism. Deborah.simister@nhs.net
