What is Supported Housing?
For many people with care needs, living in a home of their own, or with others, is better than living in a care home or other residential establishment. There are many ways that we can help people to live independently, including supported housing and other support solutions.
Who is Supported Housing For?
Supported housing and support solutions are for people who are assessed as eligible to receive Adult Social Care and/or have eligible health needs, and are primarily aged between 16 and 65. This can be related to one or more of:
- Autism
- Mental Health
- Learning Disabilities
- Physical Disabilities
- Sensory Needs
- Acquired Brain Injury and/or memory or cognitive issues
- Drugs and alcohol
- Self-Neglect
- Trauma
- Complex needs
- Some other eligible health or care need
These are often long-term arrangements, intended to last for months or years. If you think you, or a person you care for, might be eligible for these services, or wish to find out more information, please contact Adult Social Care. They can discuss the circumstances and needs with you.
More about Supported Housing
In Supported Housing, people live in purpose-built flats, houses or bungalows, or rooms in a shared house. Shared houses will have two or more people who have similar support needs.
The properties are managed by a Landlord, who is responsible for the building, and the tenancy agreement or licence. Each person will have a contract with the landlord for the place they are living in.
Care and support is supplied by Approved Providers, who work together with the Landlord to ensure the housing environment is suitable. The Care Provider will give each person the type of support they need to achieve their individual outcomes and live as independently as possible. In some Supported Housing, the housing is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Visit CQC website for more information or OFSTED.
Visit OFSTED website for more information
Sometimes regulation is not required, depending on the type of care provided, and the age of the people in the house.
If you live in Supported Housing, we work with the Approved Providers to ensure that your care needs are being met. We are also working with housing providers to develop more supported housing places, with varied types of support available.
More about Support Solutions
Support Solutions are provided to people in their own homes and designed to achieve personal outcomes and encourage more independence. A care worker or workers will visit the person in their home to help them. This might be with personal care tasks – like dressing or washing.
It might also include daily living support, and support to manage things by themselves like keeping their home maintained and getting out into the local community.
For some young people, it will include support to transition to adult life, such as getting into education, training or employment.
How this works in Cornwall
There are many ways to meet a person’s care and support needs. Supported Housing and Support Solutions could be one way of doing this.
If you are assessed as needing Supported Housing and Support Solutions, you can:
- Purchase these services using a direct payment
- Arrange it through an ISF
- The Council can arrange this if required, through our Housing and Support Solutions contract
Find out more about other types of support on our Accommodation and Housing Options page
Paying for Supported Housing or Supported Services
The rates paid to care providers under the Housing Support and Support Services contract are shown below. The rates are reviewed every year. The current rates are here:
| Housing and support Solutions Rate | 2024/2025 | 2025/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Staffing Hourly Rate | £23.40 | £24.42 |
| Complex/Senior Staffing Hourly Rate | £25.00 | £26.09 |
| Nursing Staffing Hourly Rate (ICB) | £37.44 | £39.06 |
| Waking Night Support Hourly Rate | £23.40 | £24.42 |
| Sleep-in Night Support Shift Set Rate | £117.19 | £122.28 |
Unlike health care, adult social care services are not free. We will work out the cost of the support you need. You may be asked to pay some or all of the cost of this, depending on your financial circumstances. We will offer you a financial assessment. Look at the paying for adult social care page, where you will find information about financial assessments, our charging policy, and information about paying for your own care.
Visit our Adult Social Care page
More information for Providers
If you are a care provider, landlord or housing provider, or want to become one, then you can find more information in these documents:
Read more about Cornwall Supported and Specialist Housing Strategy
Read more about Market Position Statements
We also have a Providers Platform, which is the online commercial platform designed to support effective sharing of information, advice and guidance with all providers of services for children and adults in Cornwall. You will find training resources there, and support tools, as well as market opportunities and advance notice of service developments.
The goal of the Provider Platform is to enhance collaboration between us and our care and support providers, ensuring that services are effective, efficient, and meet the needs of people in Cornwall.