FOI 2025/1289

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information regarding adult learning disability services. Where possible, please kindly include responses on the attached Excel spreadsheet.

1. Please could you supply the name, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for learning disabilities placements?

For questions 2 to 6, please supply this information as a snapshot at the end of the year for the financial years 2024/25 and the most up to date snapshot available for 2025/26.

2. Please provide the total number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the ICB in residential care.

3. Of the total number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the ICB in residential care (q.2) please provide the number that are in ‘in area’ placements and the number that are in ‘out of area’ placements.

4. Please provide the total number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the ICB in supported living.
5. Please provide the number of adults with learning disabilities who transitioned from children’s learning disabilities services into adult’s services – into adult residential care services only, into adult supported living services only, and in total.

6. Please provide the number of adults with learning disabilities who ‘stepped down’ from specialist inpatient hospital placements into adult residential care and supported living services.

7. Please provide the ICB’s total expenditure on residential care and supported living for adults with learning disabilities for the financial year 2024/25, and budgeted expenditure for 2025/26.

8. Please provide the highest, lowest, and average weekly rate paid by the ICB for residential care placements for adults with a learning disability for each of the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26. If the ICB has weekly rate bands, please also provide these.

9. Please provide the number of adults with learning disabilities funded by the ICB in residential care with fees per week of:

a. Less than £1,500

b. £1,500 to £2,999

c. £3,000 to £4,999

d. £5,000 or more

NHS Greater Manchester ICB was formed on 1^st July 2022 following the merger of the 10 former NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of Greater Manchester. The former CCGs were NHS Bolton CCG, NHS Bury CCG, NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG, NHS Manchester CCG, NHS Oldham CCG, NHS Salford CCG, NHS Stockport CCG, NHS Tameside and Glossop CCG, NHS Trafford CCG and NHS Wigan Borough CCG.

In respect of individualised commissioning of care (including Learning Difficulties), the process for commissioning and managing packages of care is operated at a locality level, with each locality operating a separate management system and set of processes which aligns with the responsibilities of the former CCG. The exception to this is in respect of patients registered with a Glossop GP, for whom commissioning responsibility did not transfer to NHS GM on 1^st July 2022, but instead transferred to NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB.

The Salford locality arranges LD placements through a joint Health and Adult Social Care arrangement (HASC) with the local authority, operated through the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. NHS GM does not, therefore hold data in respect of these questions for patients registered in Salford, as specific information is not received from the NCA NHS FT. Data can be requested from the NCA through the Freedom of Information Act, via their website.  To assist you, please find below link to their website with information about how to make a Freedom of Information request.

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Northern Care Alliance.

In addition, localities commission some LD services under joint commissioning arrangements with the relevant local authority. In some instances, NHS GM does not hold sufficient detailed information in respect of individual cases to enable the relevant data to be included in this response.

Further, the process by which uplifted rates are agreed with providers for 25/26 is underway and rates continue to be negotiated. Therefore, the response includes data as at 30^th June 2025, and if uplifted or revised weekly rates have yet to be agreed for a provider, then the weekly rate included in highest, lowest and average calculations continues at the 2024/25 rate.

Therefore, where totals and averages are presented below, this information excludes data in respect of the Salford locality, and also excludes certain joint funded cases commissioning is led by a local authority, on the basis that it is not held by NHS GM.

Note, in respect of question 9 – the volume of cases referred to here does not agree with the snapshot data included in question 2, as it includes data for cases which changed, were added or ceased before the snapshot date, on the basis that this question (and question 8 before it) does not specify that this is in respect of data as at the snapshot point, and therefore instead includes information for the financial year in question.

**An excel sheet was sent to the requester with this response.  If you require a copy of the full response, together with the excel sheet, please contact NHS GM’s FOI team – nhsgm.foi@nhs.net.**