Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of closures of intentional communities on people with severe learning disabilities.

No formal national assessment has been undertaken, and the Government does not monitor the operation or closure of intentional communities.

We want to ensure that people with a learning disability and autistic people get the support they need in the community and are given a choice about where and with whom they live, including small-scale supported living, and settled accommodation.

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their populations, and to develop and build local market capacity. That is why under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to shape their local markets, and ensure that people have a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support options available to them, and that they can access the services that best meet their needs.

Any health and social care provider that carries out a regulated activity must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC can take action, in line with their Enforcement Policy, if the quality or safety of a service has fallen to unacceptable levels. The CQC is not closing down existing services that provide good care, including services developed as village communities. The CQC does not direct commissioning decisions, which remain the responsibility of local authorities. The CQC’s Enforcement Policy is available on the CQC website, in an online only format.

As a response to the independent review into the CQC’s regulation of Whorlton Hall, the CQC has strengthened its regulatory approach for services for autistic people and people with a learning disability. This included updating the statutory guidance, titled Right support, right care, right culture, which sets out regulatory expectations for any service that currently provides or intends to provide regulated care to autistic people and people with a learning disability.