A Harrogate-based care provider has called on North Yorkshire Council to ensure younger adults with disabilities and complex needs are properly recognised as the authority prepares to overhaul adult social care commissioning arrangements worth an estimated £3.5 billion.
Homes Together, which operates 13 specialist residential care sites across Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, has welcomed proposals to replace the council’s existing approved provider list with four separate procurement frameworks covering different types of adult social care.
The proposed changes are due to be considered by the council’s executive on 27 October 2026, with the new arrangements intended to introduce service standards, pricing structures and contract requirements tailored to each area of care.
Homes Together says the reforms present an opportunity to ensure that specialist, long-term residential care for younger disabled adults is recognised separately from provision for older people.
Four frameworks for adult social care
Under the proposals, the council would replace its existing approved provider arrangements with four frameworks covering care homes, home-based support, supported living and community support services.
The frameworks are intended to reflect the different requirements of each service area, with tailored commissioning arrangements and clearer expectations for providers.
The care homes framework represents the largest part of the proposed procurement programme, with an estimated value of £2.2 billion. The council expects procurement for this element to begin in January 2027, with the new arrangements scheduled to come into effect in September 2027.
The wider overhaul is intended to improve how adult social care services are commissioned and managed, while responding to changing demand and financial pressures across the sector.
Call for specialist provision to be recognised
Homes Together believes the new arrangements must recognise that younger adults with disabilities and complex needs can require a different type of residential support from that provided to older people.
David Ashton-Jones, chief executive of Homes Together, said:
David Ashton-Jones, Chief Executive at Homes Together: We welcome North Yorkshire Council’s review of adult social care commissioning arrangements.
Different types of care require different approaches, so introducing more tailored arrangements for each service area is a positive step.
It is important that the new framework recognises the distinct needs of younger disabled adults in care homes, which differ significantly from those of older people.
Many of the individuals we support at Homes Together have complex needs and require specialist, long-term care, so we would encourage the council to ensure this provision is clearly recognised within the framework.
We also welcome the council’s emphasis on independence and choice.
For younger adults with complex needs, specialist residential care can provide the supportive environment and stability they need to develop skills, exercise choice and lead independent, fulfilling lives.
It is vital that this type of care is recognised and valued in its own right, as an important part of the wider adult social care system.
We look forward to working closely with the council as the new framework is developed, and to continuing our partnership in delivering high-quality, person-centred care for disabled people across North Yorkshire.
New arrangements expected from 2027
The proposed care homes framework is expected to enter procurement in January 2027, with the new arrangements scheduled to begin in September 2027.
Homes Together hopes the review will give the council an opportunity to work closely with specialist providers to ensure the frameworks reflect the range of care needs across North Yorkshire and support the long-term sustainability of residential provision.
The council’s executive is due to consider the proposals on 27 October 2026.