North Yorkshire Council is proposing to replace its existing adult social care provider arrangements with four new frameworks worth an estimated £3.5 billion over their contract terms.

Adult social care accounts for 34 per cent of the council’s annual budget of £1.4 billion. North Yorkshire has an ageing population, with the council estimating that one in three residents will be aged over 65 by 2043.

The proposed new arrangements cover community support, skills and independence, care homes, home-based support and supported living. 

The council says the new approach would allow it to set separate service standards, pricing structures and contract requirements for different types of care.

The council’s Conservative cabinet is due to consider the proposals on Tuesday, October 27.

A report to cabinet members, which you can read here, estimates that care homes would account for the largest share of the total contract value, at £2.206 billion. Home-based support is valued at £693 million, supported living at £551 million, and community support, skills and independence services at £96 million.

Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate and is also the council's executive member for health and adult services, said:

Our current arrangements have provided a strong foundation for commissioning adult social care services across North Yorkshire. However, the needs of people who rely on these services continue to evolve, as do the challenges facing the care sector.

The proposed new frameworks will allow us to work more closely with providers, support innovation and ensure we continue to deliver high-quality care centred on the person receiving it that promotes independence and choice for our residents.

The new arrangements

The council currently commissions adult social care through an approved provider list, introduced in November 2022 and due to expire in November 2027, although the existing arrangements allow for extensions.

A review found that the list had improved provider accountability, market oversight and financial contro. However, it also identified areas for improvement, including service definitions, pricing, administrative processes and contract management.

The council considered extending the existing arrangements but concluded that separate procurements would provide greater scope to address these issues and respond to changing demand, affordability pressures and provider market conditions.

The proposed frameworks would allow the council to tailor requirements to each service area while retaining common expectations for quality, safeguarding and accountability.

Timetable for change

The proposed procurements would be introduced in stages, with the first new arrangements expected to begin operating in 2027.

Community support, skills and independence is scheduled to enter procurement in December 2026, with the framework expected to go live in June 2027. The care homes framework is due to launch in January 2027, with services expected to move to the new arrangements in September 2027.

The home-based support procurement is scheduled to begin in February 2027, with a planned start date of November 2027.

Supported living would follow a later timetable, with procurement planned for November 2027 and a proposed start date of November 2028.

The report specifies proposed contract terms of five years, with a possible two-year extension, for community support, skills and independence; three years with two possible two-year extensions for care homes; and an initial eight-year term for home-based support. The supported living contract term is yet to be confirmed.

The existing supported living arrangements would be extended initially for 12 months, with the possibility of a further 12-month extension.