Shared Lives: living with, or visiting, a Shared Lives carer

The NHS describes Shared Lives schemes as supporting adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems or other needs that make it harder for them to live on their own. The carer shares their family and community life with the person and gives them care and support. Shared Lives Plus, the UK membership charity for Shared Lives, also lists older people, people with dementia and people leaving hospital among those it can help. It can work in three ways.

In law, a Shared Lives scheme is run by a council or another organisation to recruit and train carers, make placements with them, and support and monitor those placements, as the choice of accommodation regulations put it. The scheme is what the Care Quality Commission registers for personal care. The carers are not registered one by one, and their homes are not care homes. The NHS adds that Shared Lives carers are self-employed, are paid by the scheme though not by the hour, and are trained and vetted by the scheme.

The Care Act statutory guidance says the carer will normally give personal care, such as help with washing or dressing, but need not in every case. It also lists Shared Lives among the living options councils should encourage as alternatives to care homes, alongside supported living and support at home.

For a son or daughter who has lived with their parents all their life, moving in with another family can be a smaller step than a flat of their own or a care home. There is still a kitchen table, a front door and people who notice how their day went. For others, fitting into somebody else's home is the very thing they do not want, and the person's own view comes first. If they are unsure, a few day visits or a short break can help them find out. The learning disability hub sets out the other decisions that tend to sit around this one.

Be clear with the social worker about needs at night, behaviour others find hard to manage, and health tasks that need training. None of these rules Shared Lives out, but a household needs the whole picture to know whether it can offer a place. If behaviour is a big part of it, challenging behaviour and positive behaviour support covers the plans that should travel with the person.

If the person can understand the choice, it is theirs to make, even if the family would choose differently. If they cannot, it is made in their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act, and a parent is not automatically the one who decides. Making decisions for a grown-up son or daughter explains how that works.

The Care Act treats Shared Lives and supported living alike in two useful ways. Both are charged for under the rules for care outside a care home, which protect a minimum weekly income. Both are also covered by the right to choose accommodation, so once the council agrees that one of these settings meets the person's needs, the person can say which scheme or provider of that type they would prefer. What separates them is the household. In supported living the person has a tenancy and staff work a rota. In Shared Lives the person lives with, or visits, one carer and their family.

In a care home the room and the care are one purchase. When the parents can no longer cope sets these options out as routes for planning ahead.

Care at home changes least, because the person stays where they are. PrimeCarers does not provide Shared Lives, supported living or residential care. We are an introductory service: we introduce families to self-employed carers and support workers, and we do not provide care ourselves. Families who want help with scheduling and regular check-ins can choose our paid Managed service. The family, or the person themselves, chooses the carer, meets them first and agrees the hours and routine directly with them. For somebody who relies on routine and a familiar face, being able to keep the same person for as long as it suits them both can matter a great deal.

Before a carer's profile appears, we check their ID and right to work, check they have an enhanced DBS certificate issued within the last 18 months (or a PVG in Scotland, or Access NI in Northern Ireland), and interview them online. Carers are insured while they work. We do not check qualifications, training or references, and there is no way to search for carers by learning disability experience. What a carer says about their experience is their own account on their profile, so ask them about it when you meet. If support at home suits better, you can search for carers near you and compare their rates. Care at home for an adult with a learning disability covers what that support looks like week to week.

You can find the scheme that covers your area with the NHS Shared Lives scheme finder or the Shared Lives Plus scheme finder. You can ring the scheme before speaking to the council, to ask how it works locally. A place depends on there being a carer whose household suits, so there may not be one straight away. If the person pays for their own care, ask whether the scheme takes people who fund themselves.

If short breaks are the aim, ask for a carer's assessment for the parent too, because the break supports them as well. Respite for parents of a disabled adult child sets out the other kinds of break. If day support is what you have in mind, day services and things to do in the day covers the alternatives.

The support is funded through the personal budget, and the scheme pays the carer. After a financial assessment the person may be asked to pay towards it. Shared Lives is charged under the rules for care outside a care home, so the charge must leave the person with at least the minimum income guarantee each week. The figures for 2026 to 2027 are in the charging circular.

Shared Lives Plus guidance says the rent should be fair to both sides, and suggests schemes use the one-bedroom Local Housing Allowance for the area as the guide. If the person is eligible, Housing Benefit or the housing part of Universal Credit can help with the rent, and it is worth asking the scheme or the social worker for help with the claim. Benefits for an adult with a learning disability goes through what the person may be entitled to, including PIP.

For comparison, support at home is paid by the hour. On PrimeCarers, carers charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, against £28 to £35 an hour from an agency. A council direct payment can pay for support at home where the council agrees, and personal assistants and direct payments explains what councils usually ask to see.

1. 1

   Talk to the Shared Lives carer

   Everyday problems

   Small things, such as a routine that grates, a meal the person dislikes or a disagreement about going out, can often be sorted out by talking. A family member or an advocate can sit in if the person wants.
2. 2

   Ring the scheme

   If it keeps happening, or feels wrong

   The scheme is there to support and monitor the arrangement. Ask it to visit and help both sides talk, or to start looking for another carer if the match is not working.
3. 3

   Ask the council for a review

   If needs have changed

   The council must review the care and support plan on a reasonable request from the person or on their behalf. A review can lead to more support, a different carer, or a different kind of setting.
4. 4

   Report a safeguarding concern

   If the person may be at risk

   If you think the person is being harmed, neglected or financially abused, tell the council’s adult safeguarding team straight away, and the police if they are in immediate danger.
5. 5

   Complain, then go to the Ombudsman

   If you are not satisfied

   Use the scheme’s complaints procedure first, then the council’s. If that does not settle it, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at complaints about adult social care. You can also tell the CQC what happened.

Ask the scheme how much notice either side must give to end an arrangement, and what would happen if a carer had to stop suddenly through illness. For somebody who has lived in a household for years, leaving can be a real loss even when it is right, so ask for any move to be planned at the person's pace.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is free to use, and section 27 of the Care Act sets out the council's duty to review. The NHS guide to Shared Lives schemes is a short summary to keep. If round-the-clock support at home is the alternative being weighed, live-in care for a younger adult with a disability covers it.