Independent Market Assessment

Lincolnshire County Council is seeking an independent organisation to undertake a comprehensive, evidence‑based Market Assessment of the Residential and Nursing Care sector and the Community Supported Living (CSL) market within Lincolnshire. The assessment will provide the Council with a clear and robust understanding of current market conditions, cost drivers, sustainability challenges, future demand, and provider capacity.

The findings from this Independent Market Assessment will directly inform the Council’s decisions on both current and future fee‑setting for these services, as well as support the design, development, and implementation of future commissioning and contractual arrangements.

This market assessment will focus on Residential and Nursing care and CSL services in Lincolnshire and will consider demand, supply, market sufficiency, cost of care delivery and the wider legislative and policy context. The primary objectives of the review are:

- Analysis of the cost of care delivery for Residential and Nursing care and CSL services.

- Analysis/comparison of the cost models and current fee structures utilised by the Council (and other Local Authorities) for Residential and Nursing care and CSL services.

- Provide recommendations for future fee setting models that support both financial sustainability for the market, and affordability and best value for the Council, including:

• Opportunities for iteration/development of existing fee models

• Potential alternative cost models that recognise local market dynamics and the range of acuity that commissioned services need to support.

- Provide clear, evidence-based recommendations for future commissioning models for the services in scope, directly informed by and aligned to the findings and conclusions of the market analysis undertaken.