Guidance

Grant determination: annex A of circular

Updated 15 June 2021

1. Determination under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 of a ring-fenced infection control grant to local authorities for 2020/21 no 31/5061

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 Infection Control Grant Determination 2020/21 No 31/5061.

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 in and between care homes and support wider workforce resilience to deliver infection control. The grant must only be used to support care homes and domiciliary 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. In order to ensure that the relevant infection control measures are put in place as speedily as possible, local authorities should make the relevant payments to providers as quickly as possible on receipt of these allocations. Any funds not used for the relevant infection control measures must be repaid to the local authorities by the end of September 2020 and if such repayments are not made the local authorities must take such steps as a necessary to recover them.

Determination

3) The authorities to which grants are to be paid and the amount of grants to be paid, are the authorities and the amounts set out in Annex B.

4) The grant will be paid in 2 instalments with the first being made in May 2020 and the second in July 2020. The second instalment will only be made if the authority has provided a completed Care Home Support Plan and is contingent on the first instalment being used for infection control.

Grant conditions

5) 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.

6) Subject to the conditions in this grant determination being satisfied, local authorities should pass 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. This funding must be used for COVID-19 infection control measures. The local authority has the discretion to target the allocation of the remaining 25% of that month’s funding to care homes or to domiciliary care providers and to support wider workforce resilience. Similarly, the second month’s funding should be allocated on a 75% basis straight to care homes within the local authority’s geographical area, with the remaining 25% to be allocated by the local authority to care homes or domiciliary care providers and to support wider workforce resilience. However, if at any point the 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.

7) Local authorities must allocate 75% of each 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.  But the local authority must not make a first allocation of any funding to a provider who has not completed the Capacity Tracker at least once and committed to completing the Tracker on a consistent basis. No further allocation of funding should be made unless the provider is completing the Capacity Tracker consistently. 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.

8) 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 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

9) 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

Andrew Cornelius, Deputy Director for Social Care Oversight, Department of Health and Social Care 22/05/2020