Adult Social Care and Children's Services
Case reference FOI2026/00680
Received 19 March 2026
Published 7 April 2026
Request
Please can you answer the following questions regarding Adult Social Care and Children's Services in Herefordshire Council, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000? Timeframe: Last 12-18 months.
1. The lowest and highest (based on the standard daytime weekday rate) rates per hour of domiciliary care charged to the local authority for Adult Social Care commissioned through private domiciliary care providers.
2. The lowest and highest (based on the standard hourly rate) rates per hour of supported living charged to the local authority for Adult Social Care commissioned through private supported living providers.
3. When you anticipate re-tendering for:
a. Homecare services for Adult Social Care
b. Children's Homecare
c. Supported Living services for Adults
d. Supported Accommodation for Care Leavers 16-25
e. Extra Care services for Adults
f. Learning Disability services
g. Mental Health support services
4. The names of the current domiciliary care providers commissioned in your authority to deliver Adult Social Care.
5. The names of the current supported living providers commissioned in your authority to deliver Adult Social Care.
6. The contact name, email address and telephone number of the person responsible for commissioning domiciliary care services in your authority.
7. The contact name, email address and telephone number of the person responsible for commissioning supported living services in your authority.
8. Whether the local authority is currently working with health partners to commission any of the above care services, and if so, who they are.
9. The authority's current market positioning statement for Adult Social Care.
Response
Please can you answer the following questions regarding Adult Social Care and Children's Services in Herefordshire Council, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000? Timeframe: Last 12-18 months.
1. The lowest and highest (based on the standard daytime weekday rate) rates per hour of domiciliary care charged to the local authority for Adult Social Care commissioned through private domiciliary care providers.
Answer: Commissioned provider 25/26 FY rates:
Urban = £25.16 per hour
Rural = £28.92 per hour
Commissioned provider 26/27 FY rates:
Urban = £26.04 per hour
Rural = £29.92 per hour
2. The lowest and highest (based on the standard hourly rate) rates per hour of supported living charged to the local authority for Adult Social Care commissioned through private supported living providers.
Answer: Lowest rate per hour: £16.20 (sleep night support)
Highest rate per hour: £26.66 (1:1 support)
3. When you anticipate re-tendering for:
a. Homecare services for Adult Social Care
Answer: Domiciliary Home Care – anticipated recommissioning to be completed in time for FY 2027/2028
b. Children's Homecare
Answer: The Service Area have advised we have no immediate plans to tender for further children’s homecare provision, and we are in a period of review to inform our future requirements.
c. Supported Living services for Adults
Answer: Current Supported Living Framework – the initial term ends in November 2028.
d. Supported Accommodation for Care Leavers 16-25
e. Extra Care services for Adults
f. Learning Disability services
g. Mental Health support services
Answer: The information for points d., e., f. and g. above are publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
Please scroll to the bottom of the page and open the Pipeline future opportunities 2026 spreadsheet.
The Service Area have advised the Pipeline of future opportunities spreadsheet details tenders that are in the development stage prior to their publication to the market. We list all our contract opportunities on our electronic procurement portal Supplying the South West (https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/). Registering on the portal will keep you informed of relevant opportunities as they arise and enable you to bid for a tender.
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
4. The names of the current domiciliary care providers commissioned in your authority to deliver Adult Social Care.
Answer: Please see the list of Providers below:
Acer Care (Quality Care and Companionship Ltd)
Agincare UK - Leominster
Agincare UK - Ross on Wye
Agincare UK - The Rose Gardens
Altogether Care
BlueBelles Care Agency
Eclipse HomeCare
Elgar Care Ltd
Mortimer Homecare Limited
Quality Care @ Home
Services for Independent Living (SIL)
Total Living Care
Eastbank
Faith Home Care Limited
Flexicare Newent and Ledbury Ltd
Healthcare 1st Choice Ltd
Joghide Home Care
Mobile Care & Domestic services
Ulticare Limited
Verity Healthcare
5. The names of the current supported living providers commissioned in your authority to deliver Adult Social Care.
Answer: Please see the list of Approved Framework Providers below:
Aspire Living
Acton Mill Support LTD
Affinity Trust
Aspire Community Care & Support Ltd
Caretech Ltd
Craegmoor Supporting You Limited
Creative Support Ltd
Divine Care And Services Limited
Divine Domiciliary Care Limited
Eden Housing & Support Ltd
Fona Godema Limited
Gain Healthcare ltd
Grace Live In Carers Ltd t/a Grace 247 Care
Inclusion Care Ltd
Lifeways SIL Ltd
Mercylink Care Services Limited
My Health Care Support Ltd
New Horizons Management Services Ltd
Pharos Support Limited
Potensial Limited (trading as Potens)
Radis Community Care
Services For Independent Living
Vision Homes Association
Walsingham Support
YoD Ltd
However, our list of Spot-Purchase Arrangement Providers has been withheld under Section 43 (1) and / or (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because disclosure would, or would be likely, to prejudice the commercial interests of the Council.
The Council is able to consider its own economic interests and feels that confidentiality is required to protect its position as purchaser. Disclosing this information would be likely to affect the ability of the council to negotiate best value and to effectively procure services of this nature in the future.
In coming to this decision, I have weighed up the public interest for disclosure against the public interest in not disclosing the information and the commercial interests of the Council as follows:
The public interest in disclosure:
Openness and transparency as to which supported living providers are commissioned to deliver Adult Social Care.
The public interest in not disclosing the information and the commercial interests of the Council
Spot‑purchase arrangements involve individually negotiated rates and contract terms, and the disclosure of provider names would allow competitors or third parties to infer pricing strategies, costing structures, or levels of commercial risk unique to each organisation.
In addition, releasing provider names for spot placements would distort the dataset, as spot contracts are by nature highly individualised and do not represent standardised commissioning activity. Each placement is unique in need, complexity, urgency, and price. Publishing these data points in isolation could lead to misleading or inaccurate inferences about provider performance, pricing, or market share that do not reflect the reality of the commissioning context. Such inaccurate inference could prejudice providers’ commercial positions or misrepresent the commissioning landscape.
Given the competitive nature of the adult social care market, and the dependency of providers on spot‑purchase arrangements, disclosure of provider identities could distort competition, affect future procurement outcomes, and undermine commercial negotiations for the council.
Taking the above into consideration, I have found the public interest in disclosing the information in this case is outweighed by the public interest in not disclosing the information. Please therefore take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
6. The contact name, email address and telephone number of the person responsible for commissioning domiciliary care services in your authority.
Answer: Name: Helen Davies | Commissioning Manager Ageing Well
Email: helen.davies3@herefordshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01432 383298
If you are a company intending to use the names and contact details of council officers provided in this response for direct marketing, you must be registered with the Information Commissioner to process personal data for this purpose. You must also check that the individual (whom you wish to contact for direct marketing purposes) is not registered with one of the preference services to prevent direct marketing. If they are you must adhere to this preference. You must also ensure you comply with the Privacy Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). For more information see www.ico.org.uk
For the avoidance of doubt, the provision of individual names and contact details under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not give consent to receive direct marketing via any media and expressly does not constitute a 'soft opt-in' under PECR.
7. The contact name, email address and telephone number of the person responsible for commissioning supported living services in your authority.
Answer: Name: Hannah Offord | Commissioning Manger, Living Well
Email: Hannah.Offord@herefordshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01432 260180
If you are a company intending to use the names and contact details of council officers provided in this response for direct marketing, you must be registered with the Information Commissioner to process personal data for this purpose. You must also check that the individual (whom you wish to contact for direct marketing purposes) is not registered with one of the preference services to prevent direct marketing. If they are you must adhere to this preference. You must also ensure you comply with the Privacy Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). For more information see www.ico.org.uk
For the avoidance of doubt, the provision of individual names and contact details under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not give consent to receive direct marketing via any media and expressly does not constitute a 'soft opt-in' under PECR.
8. Whether the local authority is currently working with health partners to commission any of the above care services, and if so, who they are.
Answer: Yes, Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB
9. The authority's current market positioning statement for Adult Social Care.
Answer: This information is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
Please be advised, the new MPS is due early in the new 26/27 FY.
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Documents
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