Policy Updates 14th February 2023
NCF Members Briefing
Fair Cost of Care Reports
We are currently working with the Care Provider Alliance to analyse the Cost of Care Reports published by LAs on 1 February. We have updated a page of our website with a LA map which will allow you to find links to your LAs' reports. Thre are around 4 still missing we think. We will update that map with more data from the exercises as we analyse the reports.
Our aim in analysing the data with CPA is to see what we can meaningfully say about the gap between what LAs are currently paying and the median values identified in the exercises. We are well aware that there were a number of issues with the exercises and data, but this is the first time we have had access to data of this scale so we are aiming to use it to bolster our case to central government for proper funding for a fair cost of care. We will also explore how we can link ARC England's LA Fee Rate Data in with this in order to say something wider about all adult social care services and the need for central government funding to enable substantial fee uplifts by LAs.
We will hopefully have an update on this work next week.
Please also take note of the Final Local Government Settlement which I have outlined below due to an 'Adult Social Care Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund' - one of its aims is to close the cost of care gap.
Final Local Government Settlement
The final local government settlement was published earlier this week. This is largely the same as the preliminary settlement for adult social care, and places a large focus on enabling discharge. There is a social care resources explanatory note which you should read as it contains grant conditions for a new 'Adult Social Care Market Sustainability and Improvement' fund.
The Social Care Grant, as outlined in the preliminary settlement, will be increased to £3.852 billion in 2023/24, split between adults’ and children’s social care. This includes funding that would have been used to implement charging reform (£1.265bn). This is an increase of £1.345 billion compared to 2022/23 before accounting for the rolling in of the Independent Living Fund.
Note that "the government has made available [the increased funding to the Social Care Grant] to local authorities to enable them to commission higher quality adult social care, and to increase adult social care capacity, we expect local authorities to use the additional funding available for social care to go beyond meeting inflationary pressures, including those experienced in 2022/23, and to deliver tangible improvements in adult social care services. These improvements should address discharge delays, social care waiting times, low fee rates, and workforce pressures. This funding is provided on the condition that it is used as part of a substantial increase in planned adult social care spending."
Discharge funding - the Autumn Statement announced £600 million of new grant funding for 2023/24 to support hospital discharge. Local authorities will receive £300 million of this funding which will be pooled as part of the Better Care Fund. Full grant conditions are yet to be published but it will likely be based on the current £500m fund - the explanatory note gives a general idea of what these might be. The other £300m will be managed by the ICS.
Council tax flexibilities - setting the referendum threshold at 3% (up from 2% ) per year from April 2023 for shire counties, unitary authorities, London boroughs, and the Greater London Authority, without a local referendum. Councils can set higher increases if they wish, via consent of a local referendum. Plus, LAs with social care responsibilities will be able to set an adult social care precept of up to 2% per year without a referendum. Note - it is for individual authorities to determine whether to use the flexibilities detailed above.
Adult Social Care Market Sustainability and Improvement Funding (MSIF) worth £400m (we're not sure if this is new money) will be combined with £162m of the Fair Cost of Care money to create a new ringfenced fund for adult social care. The £400m portion of the money should be used by LAs to make tangible improvements to adult social care, and in particular, address delayed discharges, social care waiting times, low fee rates, workforce pressures and to promote technological innovation. The £162m is expected to be used to support the progress LAs and providers towards the fair cost of care. The bottom of the explanatory note lists the full grant conditions of the MSIF. Overall, LAs are instructed to use the fund to:
Increase adult social care capacity
Reduce waiting times
Increase workforce capacity and retention
Increase fee rates to close the cost of care gap in an area
Specific grant conditions for LAs, including metrics and monitoring can be found for MSIF at the bottom of the explanatory note.
Estimated out of stock dates for PPE Portal
A very important update was issued this morning regarding estimated dates when DHSC thinks certain categories of PPE will no longer be available on the PPE Portal. Some of these dates are March 2023 so it is very important to look at this document. Free PPE remains in place until March 2024, but only for as long as stock remains. Please let us know how this impacts you - particularly if prices start to increase from suppliers of PPE.
Social Care Charging for LAs 2023 to 2024
DHSC has issued information for LAs about charging for 2023 to 2024 financial year:
the capital limits remain at their current level (lower capital limit £14,250 and upper capital limit £23,250)
the personal expenses allowance (PEA) for local authority-supported care home residents increases in line with inflation from its current level of £25.65 per week to £28.25 per week.
the Savings Credit disregards increase in line with inflation from up to £5.90 per week to up to £6.50 per week for an individual couple, and from up to £8.85 per week to up to £9.75 per week for couples. These rates apply to individuals receiving care in a care home, their own home, or another setting
the minimum income guarantee (MIG) for people receiving local authority-arranged care and support other than in a care home increases in line with inflation where the adult is concerned as follows:
responsible for, and a member of, the same household as a child, the amount of £94.90 in respect of each child
a single person and—
is aged 18 or older but less than 25, the amount of £82.15
is aged 25 or older but less than pension credit age, the amount of £103.65
has attained pension credit age, the amount of £214.35
is a lone parent aged 18 or over, the amount of £103.65
is a member of a couple and—
one or both are aged 18 or over, the amount of £81.40
one or both have attained pension credit age, the amount of £163.65
is a single person who is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of—
disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £45.75
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £22.35
is a member of a couple and one member of that couple is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support, be in receipt of—
disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £32.60
enhanced disability premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £16.05
is in receipt of, or the local authority considers would, if in receipt of income support be in receipt of, carer premium, the amount of the applicable premium is £49.05
Voter ID
Members will want to ensure that those they provide care and support for are able to vote in May. From 4 May 2023, the law is changing meaning that voters in England will need to show photo ID in order to vote in local elections. It will apply to UK General elections from October 2023. If someone doesn’t have one of the accepted forms of Photo ID, they will need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate but note they will need to register to vote before applying for that certificate. The deadline to register to vote for the May local elections in England is 11:59pm on Monday 17th April and the deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5pm 25th April 2023.
The electoral commission has created a section of their website detailing what individuals will need to do. As part of this they have created a series of resource packs for different groups of people to help partners, charities and civil society organisations to support the people they work with – this includes packs specifically for older people.
Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP)
Households that do not use mains for gas heating should have started to receive £200 payments towards their energy bills. The vast majority of households will receive the payment as a credit on their electricity supplier bill in February. A small minority, who use alternative fuels and do not have a direct relationship with their energy supplier will need to apply via an online portal which will launch later this month. Businesses who use altertnative fuels will also start receiving £150 payments as part of the Non-Domestic Alternative Fuel Payment scheme. This should not be confused with the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding which will be in place by 27 February and will support households who do not have a direct relationship with a domestic energy supplier with £400 payments
Upcoming Industrial Action
Please find a letter from DHSC about industrial action sent to DASSs at this link.
Unite Ambulance workers will be striking on following dates across England:
17 February, and 6 and 20 March – West Midland
20 February, and 6 and 20 March – North East
20 February, and 6 and 20 March – East Midlands
22 February, 6 and 20 March – North West
GMB Ambulance workers will be striking on the following dates across England:
20 February and 6 and 20 March - South West, South East Coast, North West, South Central, North East, East Midland, Yorkshire and Wales
Members of the National Education Union have announced a series of potential strikes over the next 2 months:
28 February – North and north-west England, Yorkshire and Humber
1 March – East Midlands, West Midlands, and the NEU’s eastern region
2 March – London, South-east and south-west England
15 and 16 March – England and Wales
National Capacity Tracker Provider Updates - Reminder
The deadline for the next mandated data submission of the National Capacity Tracker is approaching so we are sending you this email as a general reminder. Each month, on the 14th, the Department of Health and Social Care requires that care homes and home care providers update the National Capacity Tracker.
What you need to do
Make sure you complete your updates on the National Capacity Tracker by the 14th of each month. However, we ask all providers to do this on a weekly basis if possible. The reason for this is that it gives our Commissioning Team the best chance to identify any potential problems and help to support you.
Help and support
If you require any assistance with refreshing or updating your information, please just call the National Capacity Tracker Support Centre on 0191 691 3729 (Mon-Fri 8 am-5 pm) or send an email to necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net