FOI 2025/1454

I am submitting this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Innovate Care Group is conducting research into the commissioning and availability of community-based and small-scale accommodation for individuals with complex healthcare needs. The purpose of this request is to better understand current provision, identified gaps, and strategic plans within Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
Please provide the following information held by your organisation:
1. Commissioned and Planned Complex Care Accommodation
a. Please provide details of any current or planned commissioning activity relating to:
i. Small-scale (typically 8-bed or fewer) children’s complex care services
ii. Supported living or learning disability provisions that incorporate complex health or behavioural needs
iii. Specialist accommodation for individuals with dual diagnoses, acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, or long-term ventilation needs
b. For each service or initiative identified, please include (where available):
i. The name of the provider(s)
ii. The service type (e.g., supported living, residential, transitional, step-down, or rehab)
iii. The contract start and end dates (if applicable)
2. Existing Frameworks and Providers
a. Are there any existing contracts, framework providers, or block-purchased services delivering purpose-built or small-scale complex care accommodation within your ICB area?
b. If yes, please list:
i. Provider name(s)
ii. Location(s) or catchment areas served
iii. Service model/type and target client group
3. Identified Gaps or Unmet Needs
Please share any reports, assessments, or summaries (produced internally or externally) that identify gaps in provision or unmet needs relating to individuals requiring complex care within community-based or bespoke accommodation settings.
4. Delayed Discharges and System Flow
a. Please provide any available data or summaries from the past 12 months showing delayed discharges (“bed blockages”) from acute, rehabilitation, or step-down settings attributable to:
I. Lack of suitable community-based complex care or bespoke accommodation
II. Awaiting commissioning, placement allocation, or funding approval
b. Please include any existing analyses or reports describing patients who are clinically optimised but remain in hospital or rehab due to an absence of appropriate community placements.
5. Commissioning Strategies and Development Plans
a. Does your organisation have an identified strategy, market position statement, or development plan for commissioning or co-developing small-scale, purpose-built complex care accommodation?
b. If yes, please share or reference the relevant documents or summaries.
6. Commissioning Structure and Contact Points
Please outline the commissioning structure responsible for:
a. Supported living and residential services
b. Step-down or transitional bed-based services
c. Children’s complex care accommodation
Where possible, please include departmental contact details (job titles or team names only, if personal data protection applies).
7. Financial Information
Please provide indicative or average commissioned rates or fees for the following service types within your ICB:
a. Supported living (complex care)
b. Residential (complex or high dependency)
c. Step-down or transitional placements
8. Additional Context (Optional)
If available, please include any local or regional market sustainability assessments or capacity modelling documents relating to complex care or specialist accommodation.

1. NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM) does not have any planned commissioning activity relating to:

i. Small-scale (typically 8-bed or fewer) children’s complex care services

ii. Supported living or learning disability provisions that incorporate complex health or behavioural needs

iii. Specialist accommodation for individuals with dual diagnoses, acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, or long-term ventilation needs plans

NHS GM locality CHC teams spot purchase packages of care for patients. Therefore, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), this section of your request is exempt by virtue of the following exemption, Section 12(1). Section 12. — (1) Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.

Section 12(1)

Section 12(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.

The Freedom of Information Act allows Public Authorities to decline to answer FOI requests when we estimate it would cost us more than £450 (equivalent to 18 hours, calculated at £25 per hour) to identify, locate, extract, and then provide the information that has been asked for.

NHS GM consists of the 10 Greater Manchester localities, Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan (former Clinical Commissioning Groups), and therefore documents are held on various data bases. As such a manual search of records would be required. It is estimated a search of each file would take approximately 15 mins and NHS GM holds hundreds of files across the 10 localities. Therefore, due to the volume and complexity of the data involved, it would require a disproportionate amount of time and resources to locate extract and collate the data, and therefore, on this occasion it is with regret NHS GM are not able to process this section of your request further.

Although we cannot answer your request, we might be able to answer a refined request within the cost limit. Therefore, you may wish to restrict the timeframe of your request and/or consider specifying a smaller geographical area. However, please be aware that we cannot guarantee at this stage that a refined request will fall within the cost limit, but NHS GM would do our upmost to assist you.

2. NHS GM does not hold the information requested; the 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities are the responsible commissioners. Therefore, it will be necessary for you to contact each Council for the information you seek. To assist you please find below links to their websites and information about how to make a Freedom of Information request.

Bolton Council Freedom of Information – Bolton Council

Bury Council Freedom of Information request – Bury Council

Rochdale Borough Council About Freedom of Information requests | Freedom of Information request | Rochdale Borough Council

Manchester Council Freedom of Information | Freedom of Information | Manchester City Council

Oldham Council Freedom of information | Freedom of information | Oldham Council

Salford Council Freedom of Information Act•Salford City Council

Stockport Council Freedom of information – Stockport Council

Tameside Council Freedom of Information Act 2000 Access Introduction (tameside.gov.uk)

Trafford Council Freedom of Information (trafford.gov.uk)

Wigan Council Freedom of Information (wigan.gov.uk)

3. Reports and papers in relation to identified gaps in provision or unmet needs relating to individuals requiring complex care are available on the NHS Greater Manchester website. To assist you please find a link below to then NHS GM Committee Meeting/Board Meeting papers.

Meetings/Events | Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership

4. NHS Greater Manchester does not hold the information requested. Therefore, it will be necessary for you to contact the Greater Manchester Local Authorities, as they oversee some of the commissioning pathways collaboratively, such as Intermediate Care Units (ICUs), and the provider organisations directly for the information you seek. To assist you please find below links to the Trust’s websites and information about how to make a Freedom of Information request.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of information – Bolton NHS FT (boltonft.nhs.uk)

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

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (mft.nhs.uk)

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care (tamesideandglossopicft.nhs.uk)

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – WWL Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | FOI Disclosure Log

Please refer to the response to question 2 for the links to the Local Authority websites.

5. Please find below a link to the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership Strategy.

ICP Strategy | Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership

Please find below a link to the Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England

NHS England » Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England

You may wish to also contact the Greater Manchester Local Authorities for their market management plans for the care sector. Please refer to the response to question 2 for the links to their websites.

6. NHS GM is currently going through an organisational change process, so structures are currently under review. However, Mandy Philbin, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO)m for NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM), has overall responsibility for Continuing Health Care/Complex Care Services within Greater Manchester.

Email: gm.icp@nhs.net

NHS GM consists of the following 10 Greater Manchester Localities: Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan (former Clinical Commissioning Groups), who currently all have their own CHC structures in place.

For locality enquiries, Greater Manchester Locality Continuing Health Care Teams contact information is available on the NHS Greater Manchester website via the following link https://gmintegratedcare.org.uk/chc/

NHS GM Procurement Team – nhsgm.procurement@nhs.net

NHS GM Contract Management Team – nhsgm.contracting@nhs.net

7. NHS GM cannot provide average commissioned rates or fees; this is because fees are based on individual patient need.

8. Please refer to the response to question and the links to the Committee meeting papers, in particular, the reports produced by Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) and Mersey Internal Audit Agency (MIAA)

You may also wish to contact the 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities for any documents they hold. Please refer to the response to question 2 for the links to their websites.