Brighton & Hove City Council Adult Social Care
Formal Consultation on the Reprovision of Day Services for Adults with Learning Disabilities in Wellington House, Brighton
Contents
5. What Are the Proposed Options Regarding Wellington House?
1. Introduction:
Wellington House is A Day Centre for adults with learning disabilities in the Elm Grove area of Brighton & Hove and is open Monday to Friday, is closed weekends and is open 51 weeks of the year. It used to be exclusively used to provide day services for Adults with Learning Disabilities. In 2019, after the decision to create a whole life pathway by integrating the Children with Disabilities Team with the Adult Community Learning Disability Team, the building was divided into two parts to accommodate both the Day Service and the newly formed Specialist Community Disability Service.
The building now accommodates over a hundred staff and has sufficient space to continue to provide centre-based activities through the Day Options Day Service and access to clinic space and accessible meeting rooms for assessment and treatment services provided by SCDS.
There is also a Council provided Short Breaks service called Cherish that uses the building at weekends and evenings to provide social activities and outings for children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autism. This service employs a fulltime manager and uses volunteers to deliver the service.
The service is highly valued by those that use it and has a long-standing place in the community. The breakdown of the service is set out below:
Wellington House
|
Wellington House Day Service |
Specialist Community Disability Service |
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Purpose: Provides a centre base for People with learning disabilities that offers social activities and skills learning as well as valuable respite for family carers. The building bases provides a secure and accessible environment for those whose needs cannot be fully met in community-based facilities.
This Service runs 51 weeks of the year. |
Purpose: This is an all-age service for children and adults with learning disabilities and children with disabilities. The Adult provision includes an integrated Specialist Health team as well as an Intensive Key working Team for children, young people and their families. |
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Attendance: Currently 21 adults with learning disabilities receive support from this service across the week, approximately half the attendees have complex needs and require high support to engage in activities.
Due to the structure of the building the service is able to offer some discrete spaces for those people who struggle to share communal space, which in turn allow for a variety of activities to be provided at the same time.
The service has an Autism accreditation from the National Autistic Society based upon support approach and environment. |
Attendance: The building offers 4 clinic rooms to see patients on site and 2 social care conference rooms for meetings with people and/or their families.
The main office provides 42 desks used on a hotdesking basis.
The building has a shared entrance with the Day Centre, but with separate intercoms and waiting area for visitors, as well as a separate entrance/exit for staff. |
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Staffing Resource:
· Total Staff: 21 · Roles & Responsibilities: o Centre Manager M11 1fte o Deputy Centre Manager SO1/2 1fte o Day Centre Officers Sc5 14.3fte o Drivers S4a 3.2fte (1.2 vacant)
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Staffing Resource:
Heads of Service x 2fte Pod 0 – 13 9.4fte Pod 14 – 24 11fte Pod 25+ 17fte Specialist Clinical Team 15.2 fte (plus trainees) Shared Lives Team 3.8 fte Business Support 9.5fte Learning Disabilities and Autism Keyworker team 5fte Health Facilitator 1fte Children and Young Peoples Direct Payments officer 1fte |
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Total – 19.5 fte posts (21 employees on site) |
Total – 75fte (plus up to 10 trainees/students at any one time across the Service) |
Wellington House Day Options Day Centre:
Wellington House Attendance:
|
Attendance Numbers |
People with complex needs |
People with moderate needs |
Total |
|
Total number of people using Service |
8 |
13 |
21* |
|
People living with Family |
4 |
5 |
9 |
|
People living in Shared Lives |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
People living in Care Services |
3 |
5 |
8 |
|
Weekly Usage: |
|
|
|
|
People attending 5 days a week |
5 |
3 |
8 |
|
People attending 3 days or less |
3 |
10 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
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A total of 12 to 13 people attend per day across Monday to Friday.
*There are an additional 4 other people who use the Centre on a Drop-In basis but bring their own support staff and are therefore not included in the table above nor the costs below.
Wellington House Budget/Costs:
·
Annual Budget Allocation:
£803,050
· Breakdown:
o Staffing costs - £723,510
o Non staffing costs - £79,540
· Daily Rate:
On current attendance the average daily rate is £220 per person (actual cost for individual will vary according to level of supervision required).
However, over recent years, particularly since the Covid pandemic, attendance at the day centre has declined, with most adults with learning disabilities receiving their day support via the city’s vibrant independent sector day options market. This has significantly increased the unit costs of running the day service which currently stand on average at £220.00 per day per person.
There are six other providers of learning disability day services for adults in the city which support 134 adults with learning disabilities of the total 155 adults with learning disabilities that receive day service support in the city – about 86% of the market share. Their costs range from around £60 per day for someone with low needs to £199 per day for those with complex needs. Of the 21 people who attend Wellington House around 9 have complex needs, the other people who attend have low to moderate needs.
Due to falling attendance and the high unit costs of running the service, Wellington House is no longer operating as an efficient, flexible, modern, day service to meet the needs of adults with learning disabilities in the city and now retains only a 14% market share of the day services market for the adult learning disability community. Brighton & Hove City Council is facing significant financial challenges, with Adult Social Care services having to deliver just over £10.1M of savings in 2026/27. As a council we have to balance the needs of our community against the limited resources we have and must ensure that the services we deliver are as cost efficient as possible.
At Full Budget Council on 26 February, the Council has taken a preliminary decision in relation to its budget only to support the proposal to reprovide the services as Wellington House, fully aware that no decision will be made to close the service or otherwise until a full consultation and detailed impact assessment has been undertaken. This will include an evaluation of the impact on those affected that attend the service, their families and carers, the services where people live and the staff that work at Wellington House.
2. What Are We Consulting On?
The budget proposal therefore is to close Wellington House Day Centre and re-provide day services for those 21 people who currently attend: based on both the declining economic viability of the service and confidence in the independent sector day service market to accommodate the needs of those individuals.
The aim of reproviding the service will be to ensure that those 21 people who receive day services at Wellington House continue to receive a high-quality, responsive day service that meets their individual needs and those of their parents and carers, through the independent day services sector in the city.
It is anticipated that, if a decision is made to close Wellington House following the formal consultation process, a saving of £400k can be achieved through re-commissioning day support for those individuals within the city.
If the decision is made to close the day centre it is also proposed that the building will be decanted by the SCDS team who will be accommodated in offices elsewhere, and the property released as a capital receipt to the council.
3. Why Are We Consulting?
Councillors are responsible for making decisions for the council, based on evidence, options and recommendations by officers who work for the council.
A preliminary budget decision only has been made subject to a full and formal consultation process. Holding the formal consultation gives those who may be directly affected by the proposal the opportunity to have their say and influence the decision that is made.
Those who may be indirectly affected, such as community organisations who support adults with learning disabilities and other stakeholders such as the Learning Disability Partnership Board are also encouraged to participate in the consultation and give feedback on the proposals.
During the consultation, participants will be able to request further information, ask questions and propose alternative options that have not been identified that may deliver on the required outcomes.
We will publish all the responses to the consultation in a report that will be presented and considered at the council’s Cabinet Meeting in September, so that a fully informed decision can be made on the proposal to reprovide services at Wellington House:
The consultation commences on Tuesday 14 April and runs for 12 weeks ending on 7 July. The consultation timetable is set out below:
Consultation Timetable:
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Date |
Event |
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14 April 2026 |
Consultation Launch – Wellington House Day Centre |
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30 April 2026 |
Presentation at the Learning Disability Partnership Board |
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1 – 30 April 2026 |
Individual Reviews undertaken |
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14 April – 31 May 2026 |
Market Engagement with Independent Day Service Sector |
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14 April – 31 May 2026 |
Engagement with Community and Voluntary Groups including PaCC; Amaze; Carers Centre |
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1 June – 6 July 2026 |
Independent Sector Day Services engagement with Parents & Carers |
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7 July 2026 |
Formal Consultation closes |
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17 September 2026 |
Outcome report to Cabinet for a final decision |
4. How Will We Consult?
Service users and parents/Carers & Stakeholders:
Firstly, we will take special care to ensure that the people who attend the day centre are consulted without causing distress, especially to those who might have difficulty understanding what is happening. We will discuss this with the people who know them best such as their relatives, carers, representatives and staff who work with them in the day centre. Within the formal consultation process, each person who attends Wellington House will have an individual review of their care and support needs to determine what alternative day service would meet those needs.
There will be a formal process to meet with families, carers, and other stakeholders to seek their views. We will use a digital platform called “Your Voice” as a way of gathering information and the views of all people potentially affected by the proposal. We acknowledge that any changes to this service may have a considerable impact on those who use it, as well as on carers and families. That’s why your perspective is so important to us.
To ensure we gather a thorough understanding of everyone’s views and concerns, and to hear any suggestions or ideas you may have about the proposed change, we will undertake the consultation via a survey that will be sent via email to all those affected by the proposal.
Should anyone need the survey via hard copy or in a more suitable format for their needs this can be arranged on an individual basis.
Staff:
Staff who work in the day centre will be able to participate in the Your Voice Consultation and will be a key part of individual service user reviews.
The separate formal staff consultation process regarding future employment options involving one-to-one meetings as part of the council’s Change Management process will only commence for day centre staff after Cabinet in September, should Cabinet decide to reprovide Wellington House.
The remaining staff who work in the building will be able to participate in the Your Voice Consultation.
5. What Are the Proposed Options Regarding Wellington House?
The proposed options for Wellington House are for the service to be re-provided within the independent sector learning disability day services market in the city, that already provides 86% of the day options for adult with learning disabilities. This means each individual who currently attend Wellington House will receive a day service from another provider in the city. Individual needs and preferences such as friendship groups will be considered as part of this process. Any alternative offer will need to be able to meet the needs of the 21 individuals who currently attend Wellington House Day centre. A summary of the providers and their current fees is set out below:
Current Independent Sector Market Rates:
|
Provider |
Model |
Fees |
Capacity (if known) |
|
1. Ambito |
Building based. Supports those with complex physical and behavioural needs, can provide additional 1:1 support. Strong PBS offer. Can provide some transport |
Day Fee £51.06 (with less than 3hrs 1:1) Day Fee £68.07 (if have more than 3hrs 1:1 1:1 hourly rate £23.48 PBS hourly rate £33.01 Transport £22 |
None at present |
|
2. Aspirations Active |
Building based. Supports those with complex behavioural needs who require focused support. Strong PBS offer. |
|
Not known, anticipate limited if any |
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3. Down Syndrome Development Trust |
Building based at Falmer University. Supports YP to increase their independence, work with students. Provide focused support sessions. |
Day Fee £87.00 |
Exact not known. Anticipate some |
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4. Grace Eyre Foundation |
Building based in a range of locations across the city. Support people with moderate needs who can be in a small group. Wide range of activities offered |
Day Fee £72.52
Half day £36.25 |
Exact not known but do have capacity. Want to fill sessions |
|
5. Team Domenica |
Supports young people to increase their independence through learning of skills and experience – ie café/pub. Support into work placements |
Day Fee £70.20 |
Exact not known but just opened new Pub |
|
6. Rockets |
Very small building base. Arts offer on 1:1 basis. |
Day Fee £60.90
Half day £33.60 |
Very small, limited capacity. |
Independent Sector Rates according to Need
|
Support need |
Service model |
Offer |
Indicative Average Costs |
|
Low/Medium needs |
Activities shared with other individuals May be building based or in the community May support work opportunities |
Sessions/half day Full day |
£35 per session per day £70 per day |
|
High need |
Higher level of staff support required May need 1:1 support May need PBS offer from provider May need support with personal care/ health needs |
Tends to be full days
Tends to be building based though will include some activities in the community |
£50 - £87 per day Additional cost on top could include 1:1/ PSB / Personal care
Average cost of a service with a high support provider including 1:1, PBS, personal care, transport is £199 a day |
As part of the consultation process all stakeholders and those who participate in the consultation process are invited to suggest alternative options for the day service at Wellington House. These will need to consider the financial challenges the council has to address in terms of efficiencies.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this document, we would be grateful for your participation in this consultation.
For Queries and further information please contact: hasccommunications@brighton-hove.gov.uk