From day services to supported housing, respite and short break care to support in the community and people’s homes – Leading Lives delivers high-quality, person-centred services to a wide range of people, the majority being those with a learning disability and autistic adults. Its services are commissioned by Suffolk County Council, neighbouring local authorities and NHS partners. A small percentage of services are purchased directly by individuals. The challenge: traditional care and support is task driven and focuses on short term outcomes Leading Lives was established as a employee-owned cooperative, transitioning out of Suffolk Council in 2012 as an independent public sector spinout, with the aim of continuing to provide services in a more autonomous and less bureaucratic way. Service design and delivery Leading Lives offers goal- and outcome-focused support based around growing independence and relationships. An employee-owned, not-for-profit social enterprise, it exists to support people with a social care need in a person-centred way, taking pride in being “enabling” and not offering a service that “does for.” Leading Lives’ employees lead the business by having a majority seat on the board, by having a voice via the shareholder council and by engagement in decisions and the future of the organisation. Contracts and funding Leading Lives has various contractual arrangements with Suffolk county council and other local authorities in the eastern region as well as some arrangements with the NHS and private individuals. Innovation and impact in people-focused service delivery Leading LIves’ creative teams collaborate to find solutions for people. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Leading Lives developed a temporary, replacement crisis prevention service that continues to be commissioned by the local authority in 2025 as a safety net service. This service supports individuals at risk of home breakdown, exploitation, debt, homelessness or breaking the law. It prevents longer term interventions at the cost to the local authority In 2024, Leading Lives employed a dementia project officer who has been able to engage with the local authority and the ICB to raise the awareness of dementia in people with learning disabilities. This has influenced and contributed to the local authority’s dementia strategy and housing strategy for people with learning disabilities, and to the ICB’s lowering of dementia screening ages in Suffolk for individuals with Downs syndrome. Alignment with government and NHS priorities Learning Lives’ approach directly contributes to sustainable economic growth by reducing long-term costs to local authorities through preventative services that address risks such as homelessness, exploitation, and service breakdown. By employing a dementia project officer in 2024, it has both diversified its services and influenced public policies. This has fostered a collaborative environment for addressing complex community needs while promoting inclusivity and equity in public health planning. “My son lives in a supported house and his care and support is provided by Leading Lives.He is non-verbal, has a severe learning disability and requires 24/7 support. What makes everything work so well is the house was set up as a co-production and has continued along those lines. “When researching agencies to provide care for our son we selected Leading Lives from a number of agencies because their ethos matched ours and we knew they would work with us and include us. They recognised the importance to our son of working together. “Communication is central to the relationship between my son, us the parents and the Leading Lives team. The house team chat through with us any new ideas or issues that arise; support him in a variety of weekly activities; work with us to plan bespoke holidays and carefully monitor his day-to-day needs making changes when needed. The team is always open to ideas and will frequently come up with suggestions to improve or develop his life. “Understanding my son’s needs and how best to support him has grown from the relationship between the parents and the care team and from being with Ben and entering his world. Using photos, videos, Makaton and facial expressions(!) Ben has helped shape several decisions. This way of working together has continued for nearly 8 years and due to the ethos within the Leading Lives organisation, it has continued even through inevitable changes to the house team. “He is very happy and enjoys a full and purposeful life; we feel extremely lucky to be able to work with Leading Lives to maintain the day-to-day quality of life he has. Jill Knell, a parent of a son with a Learning Disability Scaling this approach more widely Five policy changes would support scaling this approach, according to Learning Lives: Social care funding to be reviewed and a real cost of care exercise carried out across the country across all service lines Adoption (by government) of a social care workforce development strategy, created outside of government A stronger, more accountable approach to the integration of health and social care, in which health and local authorities really work together cutting red tape More robust social value accountability in local authority commissioning and approaches to service design Tax, VAT and National Insurance changes for social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals Policymakers, take note: Leading Lives has developed a real sense of ownership within its teams through its model as an employee owned cooperative, noting that “our shareholders are our employees and they shape our future. They are committed to providing the best quality care as they know they play a key role in our success.” Social businesses do better business by the nature of who we are. What next? • More case studies of social enterprise innovation
From day services to supported housing, respite and short break care to support in the community and people’s homes – Leading Lives delivers high-quality, person-centred services to a wide range of people, the majority being those with a learning disability and autistic adults. Its services are commissioned by Suffolk County Council, neighbouring local authorities and NHS partners. A small percentage of services are purchased directly by individuals. The challenge: traditional care and support is task driven and focuses on short term outcomes Leading Lives was established as a employee-owned cooperative, transitioning out of Suffolk Council in 2012 as an independent public sector spinout, with the aim of continuing to provide services in a more autonomous and less bureaucratic way. Service design and delivery Leading Lives offers goal- and outcome-focused support based around growing independence and relationships. An employee-owned, not-for-profit social enterprise, it exists to support people with a social care need in a person-centred way, taking pride in being “enabling” and not offering a service that “does for.” Leading Lives’ employees lead the business by having a majority seat on the board, by having a voice via the shareholder council and by engagement in decisions and the future of the organisation. Contracts and funding Leading Lives has various contractual arrangements with Suffolk county council and other local authorities in the eastern region as well as some arrangements with the NHS and private individuals. Innovation and impact in people-focused service delivery Leading LIves’ creative teams collaborate to find solutions for people. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Leading Lives developed a temporary, replacement crisis prevention service that continues to be commissioned by the local authority in 2025 as a safety net service. This service supports individuals at risk of home breakdown, exploitation, debt, homelessness or breaking the law. It prevents longer term interventions at the cost to the local authority In 2024, Leading Lives employed a dementia project officer who has been able to engage with the local authority and the ICB to raise the awareness of dementia in people with learning disabilities. This has influenced and contributed to the local authority’s dementia strategy and housing strategy for people with learning disabilities, and to the ICB’s lowering of dementia screening ages in Suffolk for individuals with Downs syndrome. Alignment with government and NHS priorities Learning Lives’ approach directly contributes to sustainable economic growth by reducing long-term costs to local authorities through preventative services that address risks such as homelessness, exploitation, and service breakdown. By employing a dementia project officer in 2024, it has both diversified its services and influenced public policies. This has fostered a collaborative environment for addressing complex community needs while promoting inclusivity and equity in public health planning. “My son lives in a supported house and his care and support is provided by Leading Lives.He is non-verbal, has a severe learning disability and requires 24/7 support. What makes everything work so well is the house was set up as a co-production and has continued along those lines. “When researching agencies to provide care for our son we selected Leading Lives from a number of agencies because their ethos matched ours and we knew they would work with us and include us. They recognised the importance to our son of working together. “Communication is central to the relationship between my son, us the parents and the Leading Lives team. The house team chat through with us any new ideas or issues that arise; support him in a variety of weekly activities; work with us to plan bespoke holidays and carefully monitor his day-to-day needs making changes when needed. The team is always open to ideas and will frequently come up with suggestions to improve or develop his life. “Understanding my son’s needs and how best to support him has grown from the relationship between the parents and the care team and from being with Ben and entering his world. Using photos, videos, Makaton and facial expressions(!) Ben has helped shape several decisions. This way of working together has continued for nearly 8 years and due to the ethos within the Leading Lives organisation, it has continued even through inevitable changes to the house team. “He is very happy and enjoys a full and purposeful life; we feel extremely lucky to be able to work with Leading Lives to maintain the day-to-day quality of life he has. Jill Knell, a parent of a son with a Learning Disability Scaling this approach more widely Five policy changes would support scaling this approach, according to Learning Lives: Social care funding to be reviewed and a real cost of care exercise carried out across the country across all service lines Adoption (by government) of a social care workforce development strategy, created outside of government A stronger, more accountable approach to the integration of health and social care, in which health and local authorities really work together cutting red tape More robust social value accountability in local authority commissioning and approaches to service design Tax, VAT and National Insurance changes for social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals Policymakers, take note: Leading Lives has developed a real sense of ownership within its teams through its model as an employee owned cooperative, noting that “our shareholders are our employees and they shape our future. They are committed to providing the best quality care as they know they play a key role in our success.” Social businesses do better business by the nature of who we are. What next? • More case studies of social enterprise innovation