Learning Disability, Autism, Mental Health & Physical Disabilities

Learning Disability, Autism, Mental Health, and Physical Disabilities is one of the six sub-groups that Norfolk Care Association runs as a mechanism to work closely with adult social care providers. It is the only sub-group that focuses on a group of clients rather than a form of social care delivery (such as home care).

Many of these clients are working-age adults (18–64), whose care and support needs often differ from those of older adults (65 and over). As with other subgroups, this segmentation allows us to disseminate targeted information, gather focused insights and intelligence, and explore needs, challenges, and priorities.

Overall, around 30–40% of those who receive social care support are working-age adults. As with all care, an individual’s needs and goals are assessed to develop a personalised care plan. As part of this plan, individuals may receive social care support through supported living services, residential and nursing care, or day opportunities. Working-age adults are generally more likely to receive support in the community compared to older adults.

Many people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health conditions, or physical disabilities require lifelong support. Their care needs can also be particularly complex, adding to the challenge of delivering services that maximise choice and opportunity.

The impact of this, as highlighted by the County Councils Network, while working-age adults make up around 40% of adult social care service users, they account for over 60% of adult social care expenditure.

Subgroup Meetings

Next Meeting: 18th Feb 2026 10:00 am - 11:30 am

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Our subgroups aim to address specific needs within the social care sector by providing a platform for discussion, professional development, networking, and advocacy by focusing on:

Expertise & knowledge sharing – facilitate targeted discussions and share insights.
Professional development – offer training workshops, seminars and free resources.
Networking opportunities – enable genuine connections among care professionals.
Advocacy & influence – shape policies and practices within the care sector.

As always, all providers are welcome to join, you do not have to have attended a subgroup previously and you are able to join as many subgroups as you feel are relevant to your service.

19th November 2025 10:00 am - 11:30 am

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The image shows a young man with down syndrome wearing a bright pink polo shirt. He is holding a cleanign spray bottle in one hand, and some blue roll in the other and he is using the blue roll to wipe a table which is in front of him.

The Norfolk Picture

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) register shows the number of Norfolk-based locations catering for specific service user groups:

Learning Disability & Autism – 195 locations
Mental Health – 171 locations
Physical Disabilities – 261 locations

The nature and scale of this provision vary considerably.

Based on adult social care activity data for Norfolk, there were 16,000 requests for new support from working-age adults in 2023/24, compared with 34,000 requests from people aged 65 and over. This data also shows that 6,125 working-age adults received long-term support during the year, compared with 11,580 older adults (aged 65+).

What Can Norfolk Care Association Do?

Norfolk Care Association runs quarterly sector subgroup meetings for providers supporting individuals with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, and physical disabilities. We also advocate on behalf of providers, raising issues that affect the sector, and curate relevant information and resources to support best practice.

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