Guidance

Grant conditions: annex C of circular

Updated 15 June 2021

Grant conditions

In this determination:

• “an authority” means an upper tier or unitary local authority identified in the Annex B
• “the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Care
• “grant” means the amounts set out in the Adult Social Care Infection Control Grant Determination 2020/21
• “upper tier and unitary local authorities” means: a county council in England; a district council in England, other than a council for a district in a county for which there is a county council; a London borough council, the Council of the Isles of Scilly; and the Common Council of the City of London.

Local authorities must ensure that 75% of the grant is allocated to support the following measures in respect of care homes:

• ensuring that staff who are isolating in line with government guidance receive their normal wages while doing so. At the time of issuing this grant determination this included staff with suspected symptoms of Covid 19 awaiting a test, or any staff member for a period following a positive test

• ensuring, so far as possible, that members of staff work in only one care home. This includes staff who work for one provider across several homes or staff that work on a part time basis for multiple employers and includes agency staff (the principle being that the fewer locations that members of staff work the better

• limiting or cohorting staff to individual groups of residents or floors/wings, including segregation of COVID-19 positive residents

• to support active recruitment of additional staff if they are needed to enable staff to work in only one care home or to work only with an assigned group of residents or only in specified areas of a care home, including by using and paying for staff who have chosen to temporarily return to practice, including those returning through the NHS returners programme. These staff can provide vital additional support to homes and underpin effective infection control while permanent staff are isolating or recovering from COVID-19

• steps to limit the use of public transport by members of staff. Where they do not have their own private vehicles this could include encouraging walking and cycling to and from work and supporting this with the provision of changing facilities and rooms and secure bike storage or use of local taxi firms

• providing accommodation for staff who proactively choose to stay separately from their families in order to limit social interaction outside work. This may be provision on site or in partnership with local hotels

A local authority must ensure that funding which it allocates for a measure described above is allocated on condition that the recipient care provider:

• uses it for those measures only
• will provide the local authority with a statement certifying that that they have spent the funding on those measures by 23 September
• if requested to do so will provide the local authority or DHSC with receipts or such other information as they request to evidence that the funding has been so spent
• provide DHSC or the local authority with an explanation of any matter relating to funding and its use by the recipient as they think necessary or expedient for the purposes of being assured that the money has been used in an appropriate way in respect of those measures.
• will return any amounts which are not spent on those measures.

Local Authorities may use the other 25% as described above but do not have to. 25% of the Grant may be used on other COVID-19 infection control measures payments including domiciliary care and wider workforce measures.

The grant must not be used for fee uplifts, expenditure already incurred or activities for which the local authority has earmarked or allocated expenditure or activities which do not support the primary purpose of the Infection Control Fund.

A recipient local authority must:

• make the allocation directly to pay care providers (care providers include local authorities who provide care directly and care homes with self-funding residents and care homes with which local authorities do not have contracts).
• allocate the grant within 2 months of receiving the second instalment and return any grant not allocated within this time to DHSC.
• report on their spending as outlined in the reporting section below.
• ensure any support made to a care home provider is made on condition that the provider has completed the Capacity Tracker at least once and has committed to completing the Tracker on a consistent basis ensure that payments of the funding to the care provider are made on condition that the provider will repay the money to the local authority if it is not used for the infection control purposes for which it has been provided.
• will provide DHSC with a statement as per Annex D, certifying that that they have spent the funding on those measures by 30 September

Local authorities must allocate 75% of the first month’s funding straight to care homes within the local authority’s geographical area on a ‘per beds’ basis, including to social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts.

Local authorities must allocate 75% of the second months funding straight to care homes within the local authority’s geographical area on a ‘per beds’ basis, including to social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts. But the local authority must not make an allocation of the second months funding to a care home provider who has not consistently completed the daily Capacity Tracker. And if the 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.

Local authorities must make it a condition of the provision of the ‘per beds’ payment that the cost of any specific infection control measures are met by providers on the basis that (a) there is no increase in any relevant rates (except those relating to hourly rates of pay to ensure staff movement from one care home to another care home is minimised) from the existing rates (b) third party charges (for example, of costs to avoid the use of public transport) are paid at the normal market rates and (c) in no circumstances is any element of profit or mark-up applied to any costs or charges incurred.

Local authorities must make it a condition of allocation of funding that providers must account for all payments paid out of the ‘per beds’ allocation and keep appropriate records. In so far as a provider does not use the entirety of the ‘per beds’ allocation in pursuit of the 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 ‘per beds’ funding is to be used for any purpose other than the infection control measures specified in paragraph [2] of Annex C.

Reporting

An authority must submit a completed Care Home Support Plan as outlined in Annex B in the letter dated 14 May and two high-level returns specifying how the grant has been spent. A template is provided at Annex E. These must be submitted to the Department who may review the returns on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Care.

The returns must be certified by the authority’s Chief Executive (or the authority’s S151 Officer) and the Director of Adult Social Services that, to the best of their knowledge, the amounts shown on the supporting reports relate to eligible expenditure and that the grant has been used for the purposes intended, as set out in this Determination. Chief Executives have been provided with a statement of assurance for their signature at Annex D.

The first report must be submitted no later than 26 June. The second report and certification of the use of funding must be submitted by 30 September and must be made in respect of both instalments.

Financial management

A recipient authority must maintain a sound system of internal financial controls.

If a recipient authority has any grounds for suspecting financial irregularity in the use of any grant paid under this funding agreement, it must notify the Department immediately, explain what steps are being taken to investigate the suspicion and keep the Department informed about the progress of the investigation. For these purposes “financial irregularity” includes fraud or other impropriety, mismanagement, and the use of grant for purposes other than those for which it was provided.

Breach of conditions and recovery of grant

If the authority fails to comply with any of these conditions, or if any overpayment is made under this grant or any amount is paid in error, the Secretary of State may reduce, suspend or withhold grant payments or require the repayment of the whole or any part of the grant monies paid, as may be determined by the Secretary of State and notified in writing to the authority. Such sum as has been notified will immediately become repayable to the Secretary of State who may set off the sum against any future amount due to the authority from central government. An authority must submit a completed Care Home Support Plan as outlined in Annex B to the letter dated 14 May and 2 high-level returns specifying how the grant has been spent. A template is provided at Annex E. These must be submitted to the Department by who may review the returns on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Care.