Guidance

Annex A: grant determination letter

Updated 1 July 2022

Applies to England

Determination under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 of a ring-fenced infection control grant to local authorities for 2020/21 no. 31/5186

The Minister of State for Care ("the Minister of State"), in exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, makes the following determination:

Citation

1. This determination may be cited as the Adult Social Care Extension to Infection Control Grant Determination 2020/21 No. 31/5186.

Purpose of the grant

2. The purpose of the grant is to provide support to adult social care providers, including those with whom the local authority does not have a contract, to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission within and between care settings. The grant must only be used to support care providers to tackle the risks of COVID-19 infections. Funding will be distributed to local authorities in England. to ensure funding reaches adult social care providers in their area.

3. In order to ensure that the relevant infection control measures are put in place as quickly as possible, local authorities should make the relevant payments to providers within twenty working days of receipt of these allocations. All expenditure financed by this grant should be incurred on or before the 31 March 2021. Any funds not used at this point will be recovered and local authorities must have measures in place to allow this to happen efficiently.

Determination

4. The authorities to which grants are to be paid and the amount of grants to be paid, are set out in annex B.

5.The grant will be paid in two instalments with the first being made in October 2020 and the second in December 2020. The second instalment will only be made if the authority has written to the Department by 31 October 2020, confirming that they have put in place a winter plan, and that they are working with care providers in their area on business continuity plans, and is contingent on the Department being satisfied that the first instalment is being used in accordance with the conditions of the grant.

Grant conditions

6. Pursuant to section 31(4) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Minister of State determines that the grants will be paid subject to the conditions in annex C.

7. Subject to the conditions in this grant determination being satisfied, local authorities should pass 80% of the first instalment of funding straight to care homes within the local authority's geographical area on a 'per beds' basis, and to CQC-regulated community care providers within the local authority's geographical area on a 'per user' basis, including to social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts. This funding must only be used for the specific COVID-19 infection control measures specified in annex C. The local authority has the discretion to target the allocation of the remaining 20% of the first instalment of funding on other COVID-19 infection control measures for the care sector, including supporting other care settings and wider workforce measures. However, if at any point the local authority reasonably believes that the funding is not being used for infection control purposes, they should withhold further payments until satisfied that the previous payments have been used for the purpose set out in this grant determination.

8. The local authority must not make a first allocation of any funding to a residential care provider unless they have completed the Capacity Tracker at least twice (i.e. two consecutive weeks), and committed to doing so once per week until 31 March 2021, nor to any CQC-regulated community care provider who has not completed the CQC homecare survey (or any successor, as per government guidance) at least twice (i.e. two consecutive weeks), and committed to doing so at least once per week until 31 March 2021.

9. If the local authority believes that the provider has not used the money for the purposes for which it was provided it must withhold the second payment until satisfied that the provider has so used it. And if the provider has not used it or any part of it for the infection control measures for which it was provided the local authority must take all reasonable steps to recover the money that has not been so used.

10. Providers must account for all payments paid out of the 'per beds' or 'per user' allocation (as applicable) and keep appropriate records. In so far as a provider does not use the entirety of the 'per beds' or 'per user' allocation in pursuit of infection control measures, any remaining funds must be returned to the local authority. Local authorities must ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to enable them, if necessary, to recover any such overpayments. None of the funding provided is to be used for any purpose other than the specified infection control measures.

Treasury consent

11. Before making this determination in relation to local authorities in England, the Minister of State obtained the consent of the Treasury.

Signed by authority of the Minister of State for Care, Helen Whately

Hester Wadge, Deputy Director for Social Care Oversight, Department of Health and Social Care

1 October 2020