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Dimensions We support autistic people and people with learning disabilities to live the life they choose. To find support near you visit www.dimensions-uk.org/find-support

For 50 years, Dimensions has been supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people to have a louder voice, choice, and control in their lives. We are a not for profit support provider voted a UK Best Workplace for 7years in a row and we are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you or your family member has a learning disability or is autistic, we can help you create a tailored support package.

England will need over 400,000 adult social care roles by 2040, that's almost the population of Coventry. Skills for Car...
14/10/2026

England will need over 400,000 adult social care roles by 2040, that's almost the population of Coventry.

Skills for Care ’s State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report is out today. Rachael Dodgson, chief executive of Dimensions, responds:

“It’s positive to see that better employment conditions across the adult social care sector have led to higher levels of retention. This matters enormously to people we support with learning disabilities and autistic people who rely on consistent, skilled support.

At Dimensions, we’re proud to pay close to nine in ten of our support workers at or above £13.45, the Real Living Wage. This is higher than the median hourly pay across the wider sector. Higher pay has led to our colleague turnover falling by more than a third since 2022.

However, Skills for Care’s report exposes serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of the adult social care workforce.

The report estimates that England will need an additional 410,000 adult social care roles by 2040 - an entire city’s population!

But nationally, both domestic and international recruitment are falling. The country faces serious questions about where this city-sized workforce will come from.

Incentives are key to outcomes. The government’s upcoming Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, the recently announced collective pension scheme for care workers and the current Care Workforce Pathway, established in 2024, are all positive steps in the right direction.

Dimensions is an early adopter of the Care Workforce Pathway. But more widely, this pathway’s potential will be limited unless career development is accompanied by meaningful pay progression.

We cannot expect to build a skilled, experienced workforce without a structure that properly recognises and rewards that experience.

For hundreds of thousands of adults with learning disabilities and autistic people who draw on support, familiar faces, trusted relationships, and consistency are crucial to live fulfilling, independent lives.”

Read the report: bit.ly/SFCOct26

09/10/2026

🙂 Syed is ironing for the first time!

Often the little things are the big things.

07/10/2026

That's a wrap on party conferences!

Here is Dr Mark Brookes MBE reporting from in Birmingham.

Watch Mark ask Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Helen Whately MP about how they will support disabled people to work.

07/10/2026

That's a wrap on party conferences! Here is Dr Mark Brookes MBE reporting from in Birmingham.

He asked Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Helen Whately MP about how they will support disabled people to work. She confirmed that they are going to work with organisations to develop a plan.

05/10/2026

🎉 We're celebrating 50 years!

From providing homes and personalised support, to campaigning for better lives for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

Dimensions group, including Discovery Learning Disability Support, Outreach 3 Way and thank our incredible colleagues for making this a wonderful 50 years.

🥂 Here's to many more!

🎉 We're celebrating 50 years!From providing homes and personalised support, to campaigning for better lives for people w...
05/10/2026

🎉 We're celebrating 50 years!

From providing homes and personalised support, to campaigning for better lives for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

Dimensions group, including Discovery Learning Disability Support Outreach 3 Way and thank our incredible colleagues for making this a wonderful 50 years.

🥂 Here's to many more!

05/10/2026

"We need to stop talking about adult social care simply as a cost to be contained and start recognising it as an investment in people, communities and a stronger economy."

Paula Gledhill summarises her experience at the Green party conference in Brighton 2026.

“Who pays?” is nearly always the first question asked when we talk about reforming adult social care. After spending the weekend at the Green Party Conference in Brighton, and attending fringe events on building a green and caring economy, I came away thinking we need to ask a more fundamental question: how do we value care and support in the first place?

Adult social care should not simply be seen as a financial burden or a drain on public resources. It is part of our social and economic infrastructure – the foundation that enables millions of people to live their lives, families to work and communities to thrive.

The economic case matters too. Research from the UK Women's Budget Group suggests that investment in care can create 2.7 times as many jobs as equivalent investment in construction, while generating significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.

That feels particularly relevant to Dimensions UK, where our workforce is predominantly female. Investing in social care means investing in people, local economies and essential infrastructure.
But funding reform alone won’t be enough.

I was also interested in examples highlighted by the Cooperative Councils Innovation Network. The Royal Borough of Greenwich is exploring a move from traditional procurement towards more collaborative commissioning, while Wigan Council Ethical Homecare Provider Framework has sought to build stronger relationships between commissioners and providers and recognise the importance of good care jobs to the local economy.

These ideas connect strongly with the work Dimensions is already doing with More Than a Provider: making the case for longer-term, sustainable commissioning that focuses on outcomes, partnership and the real cost of providing good support.

As the UK’s largest not-for-profit provider of support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, we also believe reform must remain rooted in rights, choice and opportunity. Adult social care is ultimately about enabling people to live ordinary lives in their communities.

I was also interested to hear more about the Women's Budget Group CarePool proposal for sustainably funding a National Care Service and protecting investment in care from short-term political cycles.

My biggest takeaway from Brighton?

We need to stop talking about adult social care simply as a cost to be contained and start recognising it as an investment in people, communities and a stronger economy.

For me, there is plenty to take away from this conference and explore further with the Women’s Budget Group, commissioners and other partners – particularly how we can turn that investment into greater independence, choice and control for people, and create more inclusive communities where everyone has the opportunity to live an ordinary life.


"The PM is right to celebrate the skilled work of care and support workers."Dimensions chief executive, Rachael Dodgson,...
30/09/2026

"The PM is right to celebrate the skilled work of care and support workers."

Dimensions chief executive, Rachael Dodgson, responds to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's speech at the Labour Party Conference 2026.

“The Prime Minister has now put social care reform at the centre of his programme, with a National Care Service and a proposed change to the pension triple lock from 2030 as part of the funding settlement. We welcome this renewed focus.

“Care and support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people must not be overlooked within the National Care Service. The discussion must not become almost entirely focused on older people's care, care homes, and who pays. A National Care Service must work equally well for working-age disabled people who may need to draw on support throughout their lives.

“The PM is right to celebrate the skilled work of care and support workers. And we know that a National Care Service cannot succeed without a properly valued workforce which is paid equivalent to comparable NHS roles. Care and support needs to be an attractive career. In the short-term, the government needs to ensure that the Fair Pay Agreement is properly funded as well as being ringfenced within local government budgets and passed on directly to providers.

“A National Care Service is an opportunity to reform commissioning around the life a person wants to lead, rather than hours, tasks, or lowest cost. It should support long-term partnerships with responsible providers, focused on outcomes and sustainable funding. Ultimately, it must be about more than who pays – it must change the way care and support is valued, commissioned, and delivered.”

29/09/2026

Congratulations to our colleagues in Discovery Learning Disability Support ! What an emotional evening of stories and such deserving nominees. Well done!

28/09/2026

Where is the money coming from? Dr Mark Brookes MBE asks Future Social Care Coalition's rally calling for urgent social care reform at the Labour party conference.

Dimensions Head of External Affairs, Paula Gledhill, said, "It's inspiring to be at a conference where the PM has prioritised reform of adult social care. There was great energy in the room at the rally and a 'can do' attitude that this is our time to bring about change that is so long overdue. There is hope that the proposals Andy Burnham announces receive cross-party support."

Watch Mark share his thoughts on what we need now and his response to the positive atmosphere.

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