Learning Disability Today
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There has been a 3.5% drop in Local Authority fee rate uplifts across all learning disability and autism services, according to the Association for Real Change (ARC England).
Fee rate uplifts are inflationary or cost-driven increases applied to contracted services in social care, and these uplifts remain significantly below the level required to cover the impact of the 2024 Autumn Budget, the 2025/26 National Living Wage increase, increased employer National Insurance contributions and wider inflationary pressures.
Also, large disparities persist among local authorities, with the highest-paying councils offering two to five times as much as the lowest.
The membership body says this deepens the crisis in learning disability and autism services, where the funding model too often begins with ‘what budget is available?’ rather than adhering to the Care Act 2014 requirements of ‘what does the person actually need?’.
Learning disability services packages
The ARC England annual Fee Rate Maps are compiled using data gathered via freedom of information requests to all 173 local authorities in England and Wales and 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
The response rates this year was 76% and 73%, respectively. However, ARC England says that for the first time, it has obtained data showing that 80% of ICBs cannot report their total adult social care (ASC) spend.
It said that this represents a structural misalignment with every major element of the current national policy environment and reveals a major lack of financial transparency, undermining local planning and national ambitions via the Casey Commission for integrated care.
Its members also report unsustainable packages being handed back and reserves being used to subsidise the real cost of providing high-quality care to people with a learning disability and autistic people.
ARC England Director Sam Leonard added: “These findings expose a system running blind. A 3.5% drop in this year’s council fee rate uplifts is alarming enough, but the fact that four out of five Integrated Care Boards cannot state their adult social care spend should concern every leader in the country.”
Summary of average fee uplifts (2024-25 → 2025-26):
- Residential Homes: 8.67% → 4.74% (-3.93%)
- Domiciliary Care: 8.51% → 5.28% (-3.23%)
- Supported Living: 9.2% → 5.41% (-3.79%)
- Day Services: 7.39% → 4.47% (-2.92%)
ARC England is the only membership organisation specifically for learning disability and autism support providers. It supports knowledge development, improves practice and influences policy in health and social care for the benefit of people with learning disabilities or other support needs such as autism, mental health problems, sensory and physical disabilities.
