People who receive care at home in England will see the same carer more regularly, and care workers will spend less time travelling between visits, under new government plans to organise social care around local neighbourhoods, published on 12 November 2026.

Councils will be encouraged to commission home care across smaller geographical areas, with one or two main providers serving each neighbourhood, rather than commissioning individual visits from multiple providers spread across large areas. The government says the change should help people build relationships with carers who know them, their needs and their families, and help workers spot changes in someone's health or wellbeing sooner.

What neighbourhood commissioning means

At present, councils can commission individual visits from several providers across a wide area. That can mean a person sees different carers across several days, while workers spend a significant part of their day travelling between appointments. Under the new approach, a care worker's rounds would be concentrated in a much smaller area, with more predictable work closer to home.

New guidance and toolkits will be published in the spring to support local authorities in moving to neighbourhood-based models of home care commissioning. The government says it will work with local authorities over the coming months to track and support their progress.

What the research found

The plans draw on research by the Health Innovation Network South West into care rounds across six providers in Bristol. That research found that reorganising existing visits into geographical zones could potentially deliver the same care with 35% less staff time and 65% less driving. The figures describe what the reorganisation could achieve in that study, not a guaranteed saving in every area.

Minister of State for Social Care and Mental Health Alison McGovern said the government had a growing, ageing population and an NHS facing significant pressures. She said commissioning social care by neighbourhoods would help people stay well, independent and at home for longer, with more personalised homecare from familiar carers who understand their needs and priorities. She added that carers would not travel as far, saving time instead of rushing from visit to visit.

Reaction from care leaders

Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, welcomed the move, saying commissioning was the key to quality, fair work and better outcomes. She warned, however, that it must come with fees that cover the cost of care, predictable work and payment for whole rounds rather than contact minutes, and that people must keep a real choice over who supports them. Done well, she said, neighbourhood commissioning could mean familiar care workers who know the people they support, less time on the road and more secure jobs.

The Care and Support Alliance said commissioning home care at neighbourhood level made a lot of sense and should help promote more joined-up health and care for older and disabled people. Phil Holmes, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said most councils were already moving towards models that give people more consistency, and that the starting point must always be people's experiences and the outcomes that matter most to them.

Part of a wider shift to care at home

The government is presenting the change as part of its 10-Year Health Plan and its shift of more care into the community. Neighbourhood commissioning of social care runs alongside work to build neighbourhood health services, bringing together GPs, local authorities, social care providers and voluntary and community organisations to deliver more health and care services in the community.

The announcement also follows the Secretary of State's announcement that the government will provide £40 million for GPs to provide extra support to around 300,000 vulnerable patients, to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and prevent serious illness. In September, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that a fully funded National Care Service will be established in the next Parliament, providing free personal care for older people, based on need rather than their ability to pay. The government says the service will be funded by changes to the Triple Lock pension.

In the short term, the government says it is making an additional £4.6 billion available for local authorities in 2028-29 compared with 2025-26, is establishing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care workers, and is developing an adult social care workforce plan. Baroness Casey's review of adult social care has been brought forward by a full year, and will deliver recommendations for building a National Care Service.

Sources: GOV.UK and UK Parliament.