How to apply for an autism support framework
Applying to an autism support framework means first deciding which lot you are bidding for, because autism support straddles two regimes. Where you deliver personal care or supported living it is CQC-regulated, but where you deliver pure outreach, advocacy, befriending or assessment-pathway support it is council or NHS-commissioned and not always CQC-registered. Your application must name the lot, prove autism-specific competence (sensory adaptation, communication support, positive behaviour support and reasonable adjustments under the Autism Act 2009 and Equality Act 2010), and evidence Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training for staff. We check you qualify for free before you write a word.
Decide which lot you are bidding for first
Decide which lot your service fits before you write anything, because autism support is commissioned under two different regimes and the wrong choice fails you on a technicality. Where you deliver personal care or supported living, the service is CQC-regulated and your registration is a pass or fail gate. Where you deliver pure outreach, advocacy, befriending or assessment-pathway support, it is commissioned by the council or the NHS but is not necessarily CQC-registered, so a CQC requirement may not apply to that lot at all. Getting this right shapes every later answer. An autism supported-living lot will want a registered manager, sensory-environment plans and tenancy support evidence. An outreach or community lot will want flexible hour banding and de-escalation skills. State the lot you are bidding for in the opening line of each method statement, so the evaluator never has to guess which service they are scoring against and you never get marked down for answering against the wrong requirements.
Who commissions autism support, and why now
Autism support is bought by two distinct buyers: local authority adult and children's social care teams, and NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). Knowing which one owns your lot tells you the portal, the rate structure and the outcome metrics. Councils commission supported living, outreach and day support, usually through a framework or dynamic purchasing system. NHS England's all-age autism assessment pathway framework directs ICBs to commission assessment and post-diagnostic support, so autism assessment contracts are an NHS buy, separate from council care. The policy backbone is the cross-government National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People and Adults 2021 to 2026, which, according to GOV.UK, commits to improved all-age autism assessment pathways by 2026. That is the why now. Demand is large and rising: the House of Commons Library puts autism prevalence in England at roughly 1 to 1.7 percent of the population, so commissioners are expanding capacity, not contracting it. Reference the strategy by name in your bids to show you understand the direction of travel.
Building the Right Support and Dynamic Support Registers
Most autism community contracts now carry an explicit outcome: keep autistic people out of hospital. Dynamic Support Registers (DSRs) and the national Building the Right Support agenda mean councils and ICBs commission community autism support specifically to prevent inpatient admission, and admission-avoidance is a recurring metric you will be scored on. If your method statements ignore this, you read like a generic care provider. Write to the metric. Show how your crisis-response and positive behaviour support reduce escalation, how you work with the DSR and the local Care (Education) and Treatment Review process, and how you step support up and down rather than withdrawing it. Evidence is what scores here, so give a concrete example: a placement that was stabilised, behaviours that supported a planned staffing reduction, an admission that was avoided. Outcomes framed against Building the Right Support tend to score where vague reassurance does not, because the evaluator can see a method rather than a promise.
Oliver McGowan training and autism-specific competence
The single most common staff gate is the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, which is a statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022. Evaluators frequently ask for it by name in the method statements, so state your tier (eTraining plus face-to-face), your completion rate and your refresh cycle, and attach your training matrix if the portal allows. Beyond training, autism bids are scored on demonstrable competence. Expect questions on sensory-environment adaptation, communication support such as PECS and visual supports, and positive behaviour support (PBS) as a planned framework rather than a reactive habit. You must also evidence reasonable adjustments, which are required for autistic people under the Autism Act 2009 and the Equality Act 2010. Do not assert these as policy statements. Show the assessment, the plan and the adjustment in a worked example, because assessors reward specific practice over restated duties and a generic compliance paragraph rarely earns top marks.
Rate cards, capacity and the selection stage
Autism supported-living and outreach is most often procured via a DPS or framework with fee-banded support hours, not a single block contract, so you need a clear hourly rate card and an honest capacity declaration. Price each band against your real cost of care, including sleep-ins, waking nights and one-to-one or two-to-one ratios, and avoid quoting a rate you cannot staff sustainably once placements arrive. The selection stage screens the basics before any quality answer is read. Expect checks on CQC registration where the lot is regulated, employer's and public liability insurance, professional indemnity, financial standing and turnover, safeguarding and PBS policies, and grounds for exclusion. These are usually pass or fail, so a single missing certificate can end the bid before your method statements are even opened. Assemble the compliance pack early, because it is the cheapest part of the score to lose and the most avoidable one.
How the scored questions are written and won
Quality questions are where places are won, and they reward concrete, autism-specific operational detail over polished generalities. A typical scored set covers staffing and continuity, sensory and communication support, positive behaviour support and crisis response, safeguarding, co-production with autistic people and families, and social value. Each answer is marked against a rubric, often zero to four or zero to five, with a minimum threshold below which you are excluded regardless of price. Write answer-first, then prove it. Open by directly answering the question, then give a real method and a worked example tied to the outcomes the commissioner cares about, especially admission avoidance and reasonable adjustments. Mirror the scoring words back: if the question asks how you adapt the sensory environment, structure your answer around assessment, adaptation and review. The Lancet Regional Health Europe estimated around 463,500 people diagnosed autistic in England as of 2018, with many more undiagnosed, so commissioners want providers who can scale competent support, not just describe it.
Autism support framework: lot and readiness map
Which regime and requirements apply depends on the lot you bid for. Confirm this against the tender documents before you start writing.
| Lot type | Who commissions | Regulator / registration | Key application focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supported living | Local authority (DPS or framework) | CQC-regulated where personal care is delivered | Registered manager, sensory plans, tenancy and PBS evidence, rate card per hour band |
| Outreach and community support | Local authority | Council-commissioned, not always CQC-registered | Flexible hour banding, de-escalation, admission avoidance under Building the Right Support |
| Day and skills support | Local authority | Usually not CQC-registered | Activity outcomes, communication support, transport and reasonable adjustments |
| Autism assessment pathway | NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) | NHS-commissioned, clinical governance | All-age assessment pathway framework, diagnostic capacity, waiting-time targets |
| Advocacy and post-diagnostic support | Council or ICB | Commissioned, not CQC-registered | Independence, reasonable-adjustment evidence, post-diagnosis pathway links |
Not sure if you qualify for a tender? We check it for free, before you pay anything, and we only take bids we believe you can win. See our autism specialist tender writing or text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
Is autism support regulated by CQC?
Sometimes, depending on what you deliver. Where the service includes personal care or supported living, it is CQC-regulated and your CQC registration is usually a pass or fail gate on the application. Where you deliver pure outreach, advocacy, befriending or assessment-pathway support, it is commissioned by the council or NHS but is not necessarily CQC-registered. This is why every autism framework application must state which lot it is bidding for, so the evaluator applies the right requirements.
Who commissions autism support services in the UK?
Two buyers commission autism support. Local authorities commission supported living, outreach and day support, usually through a framework or dynamic purchasing system on portals like ProContract or In-Tend. NHS England's all-age autism assessment pathway framework directs Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to commission assessment and post-diagnostic support, so autism assessment contracts are an NHS buy, separate from council care contracts. Identifying the correct buyer tells you the portal, the rate structure and the outcome metrics you will be scored against.
What is the National Autism Strategy 2021 to 2026?
It is the cross-government National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People and Adults 2021 to 2026, published by DHSC and DfE in July 2021. According to GOV.UK, it commits the government to improved all-age autism assessment pathways by 2026, alongside better support across health, education and the community. It is the policy why now behind much autism commissioning, so referencing it, and the related Building the Right Support agenda, shows commissioners you understand the direction of travel.
Is the Oliver McGowan training required to win an autism tender?
It is frequently required and almost always advantageous. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is a statutory training requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022, and it is regularly named in autism method statements as the expected staff standard. State your training tier, your completion rate and your refresh cycle, and attach your training matrix where the portal allows. Missing it can cost you marks on staffing-competence questions even where it is not a hard pass or fail gate.
What is a Dynamic Support Register?
A Dynamic Support Register (DSR) is a list held by councils and ICBs of autistic people and people with a learning disability who are at risk of admission to hospital. Under the Building the Right Support agenda, community autism support is commissioned specifically to keep people on the register out of inpatient settings. Admission avoidance is therefore a recurring outcome metric in these tenders, so your method statements should show how your crisis response and positive behaviour support reduce escalation and prevent admission.
How much does it cost to have you write our autism framework bid?
Your first tender is £795. We only take bids we believe you can win, and if a loss is clearly down to our writing error we rewrite the next one free. Our win rate is 96 percent. The eligibility check that confirms you qualify for the framework is free, and we will tell you honestly if a particular autism lot is not yet within reach rather than take a bid we do not believe you can win.
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