How to bid for and win a Shared Lives scheme tender
To win a Shared Lives scheme tender you bid to run the whole local scheme, because councils almost always commission Shared Lives as a single-supplier scheme-management framework or contract, not an open multi-provider DPS. To qualify, your organisation must hold CQC registration for the regulated activity of personal care (the scheme is CQC-registered, the self-employed carers are not), and most councils also require or strongly prefer Shared Lives Plus membership. The model is well evidenced and the contracts are long. According to Shared Lives Plus, 9,898 people were supported through Shared Lives across the UK in 2024-25, and the approach saves councils between £8,000 and £30,000 per person per year against supported living or residential care. Thurrock Council's scheme runs to March 2031 with extensions to 2033, so model a five to seven year term, not three. We check you clear the gates for free before you write a word.
What a Shared Lives scheme tender is
A Shared Lives scheme tender is a council contract to manage the local scheme that matches adults and young people with approved Shared Lives carers who share their own home and family life. Unlike a domiciliary or supported living framework, councils almost always commission Shared Lives as a single-supplier arrangement, so you are not joining a list, you are winning the right to run the whole scheme in that area. Wolverhampton City Council, for example, awarded a single-supplier framework commencing 1 July 2026 on a two-year initial term with extensions. The service typically covers adults and young people aged 16 and over with learning disability, physical, sensory or mental health needs, assessed under the Care Act 2014 or, for transitions from children's services, the Children Act 1989. Because there is one provider per area, the competition is unforgiving: only one organisation wins, so a near-miss scores nothing. Your job in the response is to prove you can run a safe, well-matched scheme that grows carer numbers and keeps placements stable over a long contract. Read the specification closely to confirm whether the council wants you to take on an existing scheme and its carers under TUPE, or build from scratch, because the mobilisation answer changes completely between the two.
The eligibility gates you must clear first
Two gates decide whether you can bid at all: CQC registration for the regulated activity of personal care, and Shared Lives Plus membership. Shared Lives schemes are CQC-regulated, so the scheme itself must hold that registration. The individual carers are self-employed and are not each CQC-registered, a distinction councils test in the selection questionnaire and one that weaker bidders get wrong. Buckinghamshire Council's tender, for instance, required CQC personal-care registration plus Shared Lives Plus membership. Shared Lives Plus is the national membership body, and its membership is a near-universal stated requirement or strong preference: Buckinghamshire mandates it, Glasgow City encourages it. Beyond these two gates, expect the usual selection screen on employer's and public liability insurance, professional indemnity cover, minimum turnover, safeguarding policy, business continuity and the standard grounds for exclusion. If you do not yet hold personal-care registration or Shared Lives Plus membership, sort that before the deadline rather than during the bid, because CQC registration in particular cannot be rushed and an unregistered scheme is normally a straight fail. Our free eligibility check confirms you clear both gates, and flags any missing policy or financial threshold, before you commit time and money to writing.
How councils commission Shared Lives
Councils commission Shared Lives as scheme management, meaning one provider recruits, trains, DBS-checks and supports the carers, assesses and matches service users, and monitors every placement. These contracts are published through the same portals as other care tenders, including ProContract (Due North), In-Tend, Atamis and Find a Tender for England, with Public Contracts Scotland used by authorities such as Glasgow City, Sell2Wales in Wales and eTendersNI in Northern Ireland. The single-supplier model means the contract is usually long and stable: Thurrock Council's Shared Lives scheme runs to March 2031 with extension options to 2033, so you should model a five to seven year term, not three, when you cost the bid and plan carer growth. Some authorities run a multi-lot structure rather than one undivided contract; Glasgow City commissioned a framework covering long-term and respite placements. Three placement types are commonly scored: long-term or live-in arrangements, short breaks and respite, and day support. Your method statements should show realistic capacity and a clear matching approach for each type you intend to deliver, and should be explicit about any lot you are not bidding for, so the evaluator is never left guessing about your coverage.
What the quality questions actually score
The scored questions in a Shared Lives bid are dominated by two themes: your carer recruitment and retention pipeline, and your matching methodology. Because the scheme depends entirely on having enough well-matched carers, evaluators want a concrete plan to recruit, train, vet and retain self-employed carers, with realistic numbers and timescales rather than aspiration. Carer numbers are growing nationally, rising 2 percent to 10,081 in 2024 according to Shared Lives Plus, the second consecutive year of growth, and a credible bid shows exactly how you will add to that locally through targeted advertising, community outreach, faith and cultural networks, and a fast but rigorous approval process. Your matching method should explain how you assess a person's needs, preferences and risks, then introduce, trial and review a placement so it lasts. Cost carer payments correctly under HMRC Qualifying Care Relief, the same relief that applies to foster carers, because evaluators notice immediately when fees are modelled without it. Expect questions on safeguarding and the duty to report, placement monitoring and unannounced visits, transitions for 16-plus young people moving from children's services, complaints handling, and how you sustain quality and carer support across long-term, respite and day support simultaneously.
Mobilisation and the carer pipeline
Mobilisation is where single-supplier Shared Lives bids are won or lost, so treat it as a scored deliverable, not a formality. If the contract involves taking over an existing scheme, your plan must address TUPE transfer of any scheme staff, the safe handover of carer approvals and live placements, data and records migration, and continuity of support so that no person in a placement feels the change. Set out a week-by-week timeline from award to go-live, name the responsible roles, and show how you keep every existing arrangement stable during transition. Where you are building capacity, evidence the recruitment funnel in numbers: enquiries, assessments started, approvals completed and carers actively placed, with the conversion rates and timescales behind each stage. Retention matters as much as recruitment, because a carer who leaves takes a placement with them, so describe your carer support offer, supervision, peer networks and respite for carers. Link this back to the national picture, where carer numbers reached 10,081 in 2024 per Shared Lives Plus, and explain how your local pipeline contributes to that growth rather than simply maintaining the status quo the council inherited.
The value case to build into your bid
Shared Lives is one of the strongest value-for-money cases in adult social care, so weaving the savings into your social value and quality answers strengthens the bid. Shared Lives Plus reports the model saves councils between £8,000 and £30,000 per person per year compared with supported living or residential care, with savings of £12,000 to £26,000 for people with a learning disability. At scale the figures are striking: if every council supported just 5 percent of people with a learning disability in Shared Lives, it could save £1.3 billion a year after year three. Pair the cost case with outcomes, because Shared Lives consistently delivers high satisfaction and stable, community-based living that helps people build ordinary relationships and independence. Reference the shape of provision too: 58 percent of arrangements are live-in, with 27 percent short breaks and 17 percent day support, per Shared Lives Plus, which tells you where most of the demand and most of the savings sit. Showing you understand both the financial and the human value tells the commissioner you grasp why they are investing in the model, not just how to staff it.
Shared Lives scheme tender readiness checklist
What councils typically check before they read a single quality answer on a Shared Lives bid.
| Requirement | What it usually means | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| CQC personal-care registration | The scheme holds CQC registration for the regulated activity of personal care; carers are self-employed and not individually registered | Pass or fail |
| Shared Lives Plus membership | Membership of the national body; mandated by some councils, strongly preferred by others | Pass or fail or preferred |
| Carer recruitment pipeline | Evidenced plan to recruit, train, DBS-check and retain self-employed carers with realistic numbers | Scored quality |
| Matching methodology | How you assess needs, introduce, trial and review placements so they last | Scored quality |
| Placement types covered | Capacity for long-term or live-in, short breaks or respite, and day support | Scored quality |
| Mobilisation and TUPE | Handover of existing carers and placements, or build-from-scratch timeline to go-live | Scored quality |
| Carer fee model | Costing under HMRC Qualifying Care Relief, the relief shared with foster carers | Pricing |
| Eligibility scope | Adults and young people aged 16 and over under the Care Act 2014 or Children Act 1989 | Service spec |
| Contract term planning | Model a 5 to 7 year term given long single-supplier contracts (e.g. to 2031 or 2033) | Mobilisation |
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 supported living tender writing or text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
Is a Shared Lives scheme regulated by CQC?
Yes. In England a Shared Lives scheme is CQC-regulated and the scheme must hold registration for the regulated activity of personal care. The registration sits with the scheme, not with the individual carers, who are self-employed. This is a key distinction councils test in the selection questionnaire, so your bid should be precise about it. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland different regulators apply, so check the local requirement for those nations.
How do councils commission Shared Lives schemes?
Councils almost always commission Shared Lives as a single-supplier scheme-management framework or contract, where one provider runs the whole local scheme, rather than an open multi-provider DPS. Wolverhampton City Council, for example, ran a single-supplier framework commencing 1 July 2026 on a two-year initial term with extensions. It is published on portals such as ProContract, In-Tend, Atamis and Find a Tender, with Public Contracts Scotland in Scotland, Sell2Wales in Wales and eTendersNI in Northern Ireland.
Do Shared Lives carers need to be CQC registered?
No. The scheme holds CQC registration for personal care; the individual Shared Lives carers are self-employed and are not each CQC-registered. Do not describe carers as CQC-registered in a bid, as evaluators will mark that down. Your responsibility as the scheme provider is to recruit, train, DBS-check, support and monitor them, which is exactly what the quality questions score.
What is Shared Lives Plus membership and is it required to bid?
Shared Lives Plus is the national membership body for the sector, and membership is a near-universal requirement or strong preference in council tenders. Buckinghamshire Council mandates it alongside CQC personal-care registration; Glasgow City encourages it. Treat it as an eligibility gate to secure before you submit, not something to arrange mid-bid, because a missing mandated membership can fail the response outright.
How much can a Shared Lives scheme save a local authority?
Shared Lives Plus reports the model saves councils between £8,000 and £30,000 per person per year compared with supported living or residential care, and £12,000 to £26,000 for people with a learning disability. At scale, if every council supported just 5 percent of people with a learning disability in Shared Lives, it could save £1.3 billion a year after year three. Building this value case into your social value answers strengthens the bid.
What does Selective Care Match charge to write a Shared Lives 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. Start with the free eligibility check so we can confirm you clear the CQC personal-care and Shared Lives Plus gates before you write a word.
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CQC rating requirements
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