Supporting people with complex care needs
New plan to help people live in their own communities.
Almost 400 people with learning disabilities and complex support needs will benefit from £20 million of funding to implement the Coming Home Action Plan, which sets out measures to ensure tailored support and housing close to home, family and friends.
This will fund bespoke support, home adaptations, equipment and technology to enable people to return to their communities rather than spending longer periods in hospital than necessary or living in supported accommodation far from home.
Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing Tom Arthur said:
“Every day spent unnecessarily in hospital is time away from someone's community, family and friends. We cannot allow people to spend longer in hospital than they need to or to stay far from home just because they have more intensive support needs.
“We are beginning to see progress. The latest data shows that fewer people are delayed in hospital or placed in care settings far from home – but there is more to do.
“I am pleased to see this £20 million funding bringing total investment in delivering the Coming Home agenda to £40 million since 2021. I thank Dr Anne MacDonald and partners for their commitment. Real change is delivered locally and this Action Plan, alongside additional investment, provides a strong framework for that.”
Cllr Paul Kelly, COSLA Spokesperson for Health and Social Care said:
“We recognise the vital importance of ensuring that people with learning disabilities and complex needs spend no more time away from home than is absolutely necessary. COSLA remains fully committed to delivering the Coming Home Action Plan and to improving outcomes for the individuals and families we all serve.
“We have worked closely with the Scottish Government, Local Government, Integration Authorities, the NHS and Third Sector partners to develop the Action Plan and set out how we will jointly address these long standing issues. I am grateful for the significant commitment and time that all partners have invested in producing the Plan, which is published today. We now need to maintain that drive and collective focus as we move into delivery.
“Sustained, additional investment across the whole system will be crucial to ensuring that people with learning disabilities and complex needs can return home as quickly as possible.”
Dr Anne MacDonald, Chair of the Coming Home Short Life Working Group, said:
“I’d like to thank colleagues across the sector for all their input to developing this Action Plan, which we hope will make a real difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities and complex support needs.
“The Action Plan is focused on changes that will support people to live well in their local communities, to have choice and control about where they live, and to have their human rights upheld.”
Background
The Coming Home Action Plan is jointly owned by the Scottish Government and COSLA, which established the Short Life Working Group in July 2025 to address outstanding recommendations in the Coming Home Implementation Report 2022, and outline future priorities. The Group was chaired by Dr Anne MacDonald, author of the original 2018 Coming Home report.
The Plan contains 15 strategic aims and 34 actions to reduce delayed hospital discharges and inappropriate out-of-area placements for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs and to prevent the breakdown of community placements.
The most recent figures show that 391 people on the Dynamic Support Register were recorded as being in the urgent category.
Insights into learning disabilities and complex needs
Of those:
- 68 were classified as a delayed discharge (down 19% from 84 in December 2024)
- 28 people were recorded as an inappropriate out-of-area placement (down 47% from 53 in December 2024)
- 187 people were recorded as at risk of support breakdown (down 18% from 227 in December 2024)
The funding will build on more than £20 million that has been already distributed to Integration Authorities through the Community Living Change Fund since 2021, with a significant proportion expected to be provided via the Independent Living Fund Scotland.
The 2026-27 Budget delivers record funding for health and social care to help shift the balance of care to communities.