Guidance

Annex B: grant conditions

Updated 26 January 2023

Applies to England

Grant conditions

In this grant determination:

• 'a local authority' means an upper tier or unitary local authority identified in annex A
• 'the department' means the Department of Health and Social Care
• 'grant' means the amounts set out in the adult social care Workforce Capacity Fund, round 2, 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
  • the Common Council of the City of London

The main purpose of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, is to support local authorities to urgently address adult social care workforce capacity pressures in their geographical area this winter in order to:

• support timely and safe discharge from hospital to where ongoing care and support is needed
• support providers to maintain the provision of safe care and bolster capacity within providers to deliver more hours of care
• support providers to prevent admission to hospital
• enable timely new care provision in the community
• support and boost the retention of staff within social care

This allocation of the grant must only be used to deliver measures that address local workforce capacity pressures in adult social care between 10 December 2021 and 31 March 2022 through recruitment and retention activity. We expect local authorities to work closely with adult social care providers to determine how funding should best be spent, including passporting funding directly to adult social care providers where appropriate. To ensure maximum productivity of any payments to providers, local authority should be mindful of ensuring money is available to support the sector quickly. It will be important to retain existing staff capacity as well as encourage new and returning entrants.

Noting the link between adult social care workforce capacity and hospital discharge, local authorities should engage with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS trusts to work collaboratively to address workforce pressures which in some areas are delaying people from returning to their home from hospital.

We expect any funding allocated will be used to support the full range of social care providers regardless of whether the local authority already commissions care from them.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• activities to support hospital discharge or to prevent or address delays as a result of workforce capacity shortages (distinct from Enhanced Guidance on finance and contracting arrangements for H2 2021/22 Discharge funding agreed in H2 2021 to 2022 settlement)
• enhancing and bolstering measures already undertaken through the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1
• supporting payments to boost the hours provided by the existing workforce – including childcare costs and overtime payments (unlike the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, the Workforce and Recruitment Fund, round 2, can be used for bringing forward planned uplifts relating to pay in advance of the new financial year. However, it should be noted, that the fund is time limited between 10 December 2021 and 31 March 2022 and any ongoing burden would be incurred at risk)
• investment in measures to support staff and boost retention of staff within social care – including occupational health, wellbeing measures, incentive and retention payments. The timing of any incentive payment would aim to encourage workforce retention over periods of high pressure
• the creation and maintenance of measures to secure additional or redeployed capacity from current care workers – for example staff banks and redeploying local authority staff in line with national staff, emergency support measures and overtime payments
• local recruitment initiatives
• activities which support the recruitment of local authority employed social care staff, or which enhance or retain the capacity of existing local authority employed social care staff
• local authorities and, where funding has been passported, providers may also use the grant to cover reasonable administrative and set up costs they incur for new measures that deliver additional staffing capacity through recruitment and retention activity

For a summary of key changes between the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, and Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, conditions, see ‘Changes from Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, including points of emphasis’ section below.

Further examples can be found in the grant guidance.

Where local authorities and providers (where funding has been passported) are already using such approaches, the funding can be used to increase the scale of activity, including that undertaken as part of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1.

We expect local authorities to work closely with providers to determine how funding should best be spent, including passporting funding directly to providers where appropriate.

Local authorities are encouraged to look at other local authorities’ strategies and, where appropriate, replicate their approaches to successfully retain existing capacity or deliver additional staffing capacity through recruitment and retention activity (see guidance for Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2).

This includes learning from the deployment of the Workforce Capacity Fund (WCF) between January and March 2021 and details of the national evaluation. It is important to acknowledge that workforce capacity pressures are different now compared with those of January to March 2021. Therefore, local authorities and providers may wish to spend their Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, allocations on different forms of allowable activity than they did with the Workforce Capacity Fund. This also includes, where appropriate, replicating and bolstering existing activity and planning undertaken for the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1.

The grant may be used to fund alternative approaches not specified above, on the condition that such measures retain existing capacity or generate additional adult social care workforce capacity through recruitment and retention activity, such as employing more people, where shortages arise due to winter pressures in adult social care. Local authorities should consider value for money when making payments of this grant.

Any funding should be spent only on time-limited activity during the 10 December 2021 to 31 March 2022 period.

We expect local authorities to work closely with providers to determine how funding should best be spent, including passporting funding directly to providers where appropriate. Subject to the grant conditions being satisfied, local authorities can choose to pass some or all of their funding to care providers within the local authorities’ geographical area to meet pressure on staff capacity due to winter pressures. To ensure maximum productivity of any payments to providers, a local authority should be mindful of ensuring money is available to support the sector quickly. Therefore, if a local authority chooses to make payments to providers, they should endeavour to passport funds as early as possible during the grant period to ensure that providers have time to use the resources to maximum effect. If the local authority chooses to make payments to providers financed by this grant they must ensure that providers will use the funding to support genuinely new expenditure that delivers additional staffing capacity or retains existing capacity through recruitment and retention activity and has not already been funded by other sources of public funding.

Local authorities can use funding directly to deliver measures that help all providers of adult social care in their geographical area. This includes:

• care home and regulated domiciliary care providers
• care providers with which local authorities do not have contracts
• organisations providing care and support who may not be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
• day care, short stay care services and supporting the capacity of the personal assistant workforce are also included

However, if a local authority chooses to passport funding directly to a care provider, they should ensure funding is only given to a CQC registered provider. A provider is legally required to register with the CQC if it carries out a regulated activity set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

If a local authority chooses to transfer funding to a CQC registered care provider they should ensure that funding is allocated on condition that:

• the local authority has in place appropriate oversight of deliverables and outputs from any amount of grant passed to a provider. This should be sufficient to ensure the funding is spent in line with the intended purpose and allow the local authority to verify and monitor the accuracy of reporting
• the local authority has due regard to their responsibilities with respect to international agreements on subsidy control

Additionally, the local authority should work constructively and collaboratively with providers receiving passported funds to ensure that it imposes conditions on the provider requiring that:

• the recipient care provider uses it for new expenditure that delivers additional staff capacity or retains existing capacity where the expenditure and activity has not already been funded by the Infection Control and Testing Fund or other sources of public funding
• the provider will return any grant amount to the local authority that is not spent on those measures
• the provider commits to completing the Capacity Tracker at least once per week until the conclusion of the fund
• if requested to do so, the care provider should provide the local authority or the department with receipts or such information as they request to evidence that the funding has been spent in accordance with the measures above
• if requested to do so, the care provider should provide the department 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
• the local authority must provide a final value of unspent funding and updated final spending report by no later than 30 June 2022, after which time the local authority may no longer amend this value. We expect local authorities to return unspent amounts to the department promptly after this date. In July 2022, the department will send letters out to all local authorities advising them on how to return any unspent or mis-spent amounts. We ask that all local authorities make arrangements prior to this point to recoup any unspent amounts from providers in their local area

The grant must not be used for:

• fee uplifts, except those that enable local authorities and providers to bring forward planned uplifts relating to pay for the adult social care workforce in advance of the new financial year
• expenditure incurred prior to 10 December or activities for which the local authority has earmarked or allocated expenditure
• activities which do not support the primary purpose of the Workforce Capacity Fund, round 2, which is to deliver additional staffing capacity in adult social care through recruitment and retention activity during the period 10 December 2021 to 31 March 2022

To be compliant with the conditions of this fund a recipient local authority must:

• only use the funding to support measures that address local workforce capacity pressures through recruitment and retention activity. This includes the measures set out above and can include passing some or all of the funding to care providers, subject to the grant conditions above being satisfied
• ensure that any payments to care providers are made on condition that it is used for measures that address local workforce capacity pressures through recruitment and retention activity. The provider should agree to report on expenditure as set out in the Reporting section below and return any grant amount to the local authority that is not spent on those measures
• report on their spending as outlined in the Reporting section below. This includes providing the department with a return by 21 January 2022, certifying that their reported expenditure from this grant will be spent in compliance with the grant conditions, and a plan of how they will spend this grant. This can be found at annex D
• providing the department with a report, covering expenditure for the entire grant period (from 10 December to 31 March) on 29 April 2022
• provide the department with a return by 29 April 2022, certifying that their reported expenditure from this grant has been spent in compliance with the grant conditions. This can be found at annex E

The local authority must provide a final value of unspent funding and updated final spending report by no later than 30 June 2022, after which time the local authority may no longer amend this value.

Local authorities may use a small amount of this funding (capped at 1% of their total Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, allocation) for reasonable administrative costs associated with distributing and reporting on this funding.

Changes from Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, including points of emphasis

Unlike the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, can be used to enable local authorities and providers to bring forward planned uplifts relating to pay for the adult social care workforce in advance of the new financial year.

Noting the link between adult social care workforce capacity and hospital discharge, local authorities should engage with CCGs and NHS trusts to work collaboratively to address workforce pressures which in some areas are delaying people from returning to their home from hospital.

In addition to the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, final reporting point (29 April 2022, alongside the final Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, final reporting point) local authorities must submit a statement of assurance certifying that their reported expenditure from this grant will be spent in compliance with the grant conditions (21 January 2022).

Local authorities are encouraged, where appropriate, to replicate and bolster activity and planning undertaken for the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1.

Reporting

Local authority reporting requirements

The funding will be paid in 2 tranches. The first 70% of the fund will be paid to local authorities in January 2022. The remaining 30% of the fund will be paid in February 2022. We want local authorities to make use of this funding as quickly as possible to help increase the staffing capacity of the social care system.

We have streamlined reporting on the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 2, spend with wider reporting requirements on the Infection Control and Testing Fund, round 3, and Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1.

Local authorities are required to provide the department with returns covering the information set out in annex B by the dates below. If local authorities have passed funding on to care providers, they must obtain the information they need from providers to complete the returns.

• Reporting point 1: 21 January 2022, a statement of assurance certifying that their reported expenditure from this grant will be spent in compliance with the grant conditions, and a plan outlining how they plan to spend this funding
• Reporting point 2: 29 April 2022, covering expenditure for the entire grant period from 10 December to 31 March

The second instalment will be conditional on local authorities having returned the first return to the department (21 January 2022).

Any funding that is misspent or unspent at the close of the fund (31 March 2022) will need to be returned to the department. We will conduct an assurance process, to ensure that this funding is correctly within the grant conditions by local authorities and providers.

In addition to the reporting metrics for the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund, round 1, and Infection Control and Testing Fund, round 3, we require additional reporting on:

• total funds spent directly
• total funds transferred to care providers
• list of measures / activities the fund is being used for
• funds spent on each measure and/or activity (including spending of transferred funding reported by providers)
• estimated total number of hours generated from the funded measures and/or activity since 21 October 2021
• estimated total number of hours generated from comparable local authority activities during the baseline period, September 2021
• total number of recruits generated from funded measures and/or activity since 21 October 2021
• total number of recruits generated from comparable local authority activities during the baseline period, September 2021
• how many staff have left care providers in the local authority area since 21 October
• how many staff left care providers in the local authority area during the baseline period, September 2021

We have noted from local authority feedback on the Workforce Capacity Fund, round 1 (which ran from January to March 2021), that the significant reporting burden reduced the effectiveness of the grant. Therefore, we have reduced the number of metrics required for reporting on this fund. However, to fully understand the impact of the fund, we will engage directly with local authorities and providers to understand in more detail how funding is being spent.

Following the closure of the fund the department will undertake and subsequently publish an evaluation of the activities and spend conducted under the fund.

Financial management

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

Local authorities must ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to mitigate against the risk of fraud. This is particularly important for local authorities who choose to pass some or all of this funding to social care providers.

The department will review the information provided by local authorities and may request that providers make their financial records available.

A number of different public funding streams have been made available during the pandemic. Local authorities should as far as possible put measures in place to ensure this funding is not used to support activity which has already been funded by an alternative source of public funding.

If a recipient local 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. Examples of this include a provider falsely representing themselves as eligible for funding, or a provider using the funding for purposes outside of the grant conditions. The local authority must take all reasonable steps to recover the money that has been misspent.

Before passing funding on to third parties, local authorities should assure themselves that they are legitimate recipients of this funding.

Breach of conditions and recovery of grant

If the local 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, including but not limited to the second instalment of this grant.

A local authority must submit a return by 14 January 2022 and 29 April 2022, as outlined above, specifying how the grant has been spent. This template will be made available at annex F. A local authority must also provide the department with a statement of assurance and spending plan by 21 January. This template can be found at annex D. These must be submitted to the department who may review the returns on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Care.