Guidance

Adult Social Care Rapid Testing Fund: guidance

Updated 1 July 2022

Applies to England

Background

On 2 December, visitor testing began in the first care homes with the government sending out millions of lateral flow device (LFD) tests to care homes over the course of December.

Following this, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) released guidance on the use of LFD tests for visitors and visiting professionals to care homes. Further guidance for care homes on enhanced staff testing using LFD tests was published, to help further reduce the spread of COVID-19 in these settings.

On 23 December, the government announced an extra £149 million to support the rollout of LFD testing in care homes.

The main purpose of this funding is to support additional rapid testing of staff in care homes, and to support visiting professionals and enable indoors, close contact visiting where possible. This includes adult social care providers with whom the local authority does not have a contract.

This is a new grant, with separate conditions to the original Infection Control Fund (which ran from May to September 2020) and the extension to the Infection Control Fund (which runs from October 2020 to March 2021). This additional funding will provide further help to protect residents and workers from COVID-19 and brings the total ringfenced funding for care settings to £1.3 billion.

About this funding

This funding will be paid in a single instalment in January 2021.

This grant can be used to cover expenditure from 2 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. All funding must be spent by its conclusion on 31 March, and any funding that remains unspent at this point will need to be returned to DHSC.

We are clear that ‘spent’ means that expenditure has been incurred between 2 December 2020 and 31 March 2021.

About the 80/20 split of the funding

All funding must be used to support increased LFD testing in care settings. Local authorities should pass 80% of this funding to care homes^{[footnote 1]} within the local authority’s geographical area on a ‘per beds’ basis. This includes residential drug and alcohol services.

This includes social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts. The allocations per local authority have been published in Annex B of the local authority circular (January 2021).

The remaining 20% of the funding must be used to support the care sector to implement increased LFD testing but can be allocated at the local authority’s discretion.

About the 80% ‘per beds’ allocation

Local authorities should pass the entirety of the ‘per beds’ allocation straight to care homes within their geographical area. We expect this to take no longer than 10 working days upon the receipt of the funding in a local authority, subject to care homes meeting the conditions as stated in the local authority circular (January 2021). This includes social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts.

Measures that this funding can be spent on

Local authorities must assure themselves that all funding passed on to care homes as part of the ‘per bed’ allocation is spent on the following measures. Care homes can use this funding to pay for the continuation of measures that they may have already taken if they are in line with the below:

• Paying for staff costs associated with training and carrying out LFD testing, including time taken to:

  • attend webinars, read online guidance and complete an online competency assessment

  • explain the full LFD testing process to those being tested, and ensuring that they understand all other infection prevention and control (IPC) measures

  • ensure that any LFD tests are completed properly, including overseeing the self-swabbing process, processing tests and logging results

  • wait for results, if staff are coming in to undertake tests on site prior to their shift

  • for those care homes that can undertake indoor, close-contact visiting: welcoming visitors, gaining consent and overseeing that PPE is correctly donned.

• Costs associated with recruiting staff to facilitate increased testing

• Costs associated with the creation of a separate testing area where staff and visitors can be tested and wait for their result. This includes the cost of reduced occupancy where this is required to convert a bedroom into a testing area, but only if this is the only option available to the care home

• Costs associated with disposal of LFD tests and testing equipment

The fund is only intended to support additional rapid testing using LFDs. Existing regular PCR testing for staff and residents must continue as per care home COVID-19 testing guidance for staff and residents.

Unoccupied beds

As outlined in Annex B of the local authority circular (January 2021), the ‘per beds’ allocation of this grant is based on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Care Directory with Filters (January 2021) and the number of residential drug and alcohol services beds. We have set out that, for care homes, funding must be allocated on a ‘per bed’ basis.

In some limited circumstances, local authorities may need to take account of care home specific circumstances that mean there are a significant number of unoccupied beds not related to the outbreak of COVID-19. This could be the case for a new or recently opened care home, or a care home that is closing. In these circumstances, local authorities may add unallocated funding to the 20% allocation. We do not expect local authorities to penalise those care homes that have temporary vacancies due to COVID-19.

Care homes that refuse funding

If a care home in a local authority’s geographical area does not accept their allocation, the local authority may add unallocated funding to the 20% allocation. However, local authorities should make every effort to enable all care homes to accept this funding. If a local authority decides to do this, they must notify the department. Any unused funding must be returned to the department at the end of the fund in March 2021.

Registering LFD tests

Care homes in receipt of LFD tests are required to register the results of all tests as per the care home testing guidance for staff and residents, or visitors and visiting professionals.

About the 20% allocation

Local authorities must use 20% of the funding to support the care sector to operationally deliver LFD testing, but this can be allocated at the local authority’s discretion. This could include:

• supporting care homes or other providers that are currently experiencing an outbreak to ensure that they have the resources needed to administer the LFD tests and equipment that they need to increase LFD testing

• supporting smaller homes to implement LFD testing as they may face relatively higher costs compared to large homes.

• supporting other settings such as supported living and extra care settings eligible for LFD testing^{[footnote 2]}

Specific restrictions on the use of the funding

The purpose of this funding is to support additional rapid testing of staff in care homes, and to support visiting professionals and enable indoors, close contact visiting where possible. This funding must not be used to pay for activities that do not support the purpose of this fund. The department will require any misused funding to be returned.

Relationship with the extension to the Infection Control Fund

This grant is separate from the extension to the Infection Control Fund, and as such cannot be used to support those infection control measures (as listed in Annex C of the local authority circular, October 2020). This funding can only be used to support those measures set out in Annex C of the Rapid Testing Fund local authority circular (January 2021).

General measures for visiting

This funding cannot be used to pay for the costs of general visiting measures, including the creation of visitor pods. These can be paid for through the extension to the Infection Control Fund. If the department finds that a provider has claimed against this grant and the Infection Control Fund for the costs of implementing the same measure, this funding will be recouped.

Financial pressures

This funding cannot be used to address general financial pressures that providers might be experiencing.

Requirements for local authorities

Local authority reporting on spending

Local authorities must submit monthly returns specifying how the grant has been spent. This information will be gathered as part of spending returns for the extension to the Infection Control Fund and should be returned at the following points:

Reporting point	Department deadline	Information required
ICF2 reporting point 4	26 February 2021	LFD testing grant spending for December to January and ICF2 spending for October to January
ICF2 reporting point 5	31 March 2021	LFD testing grant spending for December to February and ICF2 spending for October to February
ICF2 reporting point 6	30 April 2021	LFD testing grant spending for December to March and ICF2 spending for October to March

LFD testing grant spending for December to March and ICF2 spending for October to March

The template that local authorities will need to complete will be made available before the reporting point (Annex E on Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund: round 2).

These returns should be emailed to scfinance-enquiries@dhsc.gov.uk.

Departmental assurance processes

Local authorities must comply with any departmental assurance processes, including requests for information they have received from providers on spending of this funding, and the extension to the Infection Control Fund. The department will review the information provided by local authorities and may request that providers make their financial records available. If the department finds evidence of the grant being misused it will recover the funding.

Local authority assurance processes

Local authorities must put in place sufficient processes to assure themselves that this fund is correctly spent by providers.

Ensuring funding is spent in line with grant conditions

A local authority must ensure that the 80% ‘per bed’ allocation is only allocated on condition that the recipient care home agrees to use it only for the measures outlined above, is completing the Capacity Tracker at least once per week and has committed to continuing to do so for the duration of the fund, and will provide the local authority with information on how they have spent the funding on a monthly basis, at least one week prior to each monthly reporting point (or as directed to them by their local authority).

If the local authority finds that the provider has not spent the entirety of the funding by the conclusion of the fund (at ICF2 reporting point 6), they must take steps to recover any unspent monies.

Managing the risk of fraud

Local authorities should have access to Spotlight, a digital assurance tool. Alongside other checks conducted by local authorities, the tool can help with pre-payment, and in some cases post-payment, assurance. The government Grants Management Function and Counter Fraud Function can offer support in using Spotlight and interpreting results. We expect local authorities to undertake additional due diligence where Spotlight highlights issues and recognise this could cause some delays in payment to those specific providers.

We also want local authorities to work with us and each other in identifying and sharing good practice, including protecting eligible businesses which may be targeted by fraudsters pretending to be central or local government or acting on their behalf. If local authorities detect any instances of fraud we expect them to share that information with the department.

Local authorities carry the financial risk through grant agreements with providers, and will therefore need to manage this risk and put in place effective processes to ensure an efficient recovery of funds in the case of fraudulent payments.

Payment of the grant

Local authorities should promptly notify and repay immediately to the department any money incorrectly paid to it either as a result of an administrative error or otherwise. This includes (without limitation) situations where the local authority is paid in error before it has complied with its obligations under the grant conditions (as outlined in the local authority circular (January 2021). This funding would be due immediately. If the local authority fails to repay the due sum immediately the sum will be recoverable summarily as a civil debt.

Requirements for providers

Reporting requirements

In accordance with the requirements of the extension to the Infection Control Fund, in order to receive funding, care homes will be required to adhere to the following requirements for the duration of the fund (until 31 March 2021):

1. be completing the Capacity Tracker regularly (at least weekly)

2. has committed to continuing to complete the Capacity Tracker regularly (at least weekly) for the duration of the grant

3. have committed to providing the local authority with monthly reports on their spending against this grant

The local authority must not make a first allocation of any funding to a provider unless they have met the above conditions, even if this means payments are not made within 10 working days.

Information on spending required by local authorities

Care homes must provide information to local authorities about how they have spent the funding to date on a monthly basis. They will need to provide this information at least one week prior to the department’s deadline (or as indicated by their local authority).

Assurance processes

A local authority must ensure that the 80% ‘per bed’ allocation is only allocated on condition that the recipient care home agrees to use it only for the measures outlined above, is completing the Capacity Tracker at least once per week and is committed to continuing to do so for the duration of the fund, and will provide the local authority with information on how they have spent the funding on a monthly basis, at least one week prior to each monthly reporting point (or as directed to them by their local authority).

If the local authority finds that the provider has not spent the entirety of the funding by the conclusion of the fund (at ICF2 reporting point 6), they must take steps to recover any unspent monies.

We do not expect local authorities to routinely require providers to provide them with receipts or invoices to prove how the funding has been spent. Providers will, however, need to keep these records in the event that they are required to provide reassurances that the funding has been used in accordance with the grant conditions. These records need to be sufficient to show how much of this funding they have actually spent on different measures.

The government will not accept deliberate manipulation and fraud ‒ and any business caught falsifying their records to gain additional grant money will face prosecution and any funding issued will be subject to claw back, as may any grants paid in error.

The department will review the information provided by local authorities and councils and may request that providers make their financial records available. If the department finds evidence of the grant being misused it will recover the funding.

Subsidy control

As stated in the local authority circular (January 2021), in relation to the ‘per bed’ allocation, the department considers that this grant, and the measures that it is intended to support are consistent with the UK’s international obligations on subsidy control.

1. As per the Care Quality Commission Care Directory. Residential drug and alcohol services are not categorised as ‘care homes’ within the directory, so we have indicated the relevant bed numbers we have used for these services in the allocations table. ↩

2. In order to be eligible testing, extra care and supported living settings must meet both of the following criteria: (a) a closed community with substantial facilities shared between multiple people, and (b) where most residents receive the kind of personal care that is CQC regulated (rather than help with cooking, cleaning and shopping). See guidance on testing service for extra care and supported living settings. ↩