LinCA Welcomes £600 Million Fund to Improve Social Care
The Chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association Melanie Weatherley MBE is welcoming a £600 million package to help with recruitment and retention in social care.
The fund, unveiled by the Government today, will support the social care workforce and boost capacity in social care, in turn supporting the NHS ahead of winter and through into next year.
Of the £600 million from the Next Steps to Put People at the Heart of Care plan, £570 million will be given to local authorities as ‘flexible’ funding, split over two years, to allow them to tailor it to benefit local needs.
This could be by increasing the fees given to care providers, which will enable better pay for care workers, driving tangible improvements to social care for those who draw on it, or reduce pressures on the health system by increasing the capacity of social care and helping to bolster the sector ahead of winter.
The remaining £30 million will go to local authorities in the most challenged health systems.
Mrs Weatherley, who is also Chair of Care Association Alliance, said: “We are delighted to welcome the announcement of additional funding to support the adult social care workforce. It is particularly pleasing that this support covers two years, enabling the sector to develop effective longer-term initiatives.”
This week the Care Minister is also writing to local authorities about preparations for winter, and NHS England has written to NHS organisations encouraging contingency planning to prepare for winter demands on the health service. The government is encouraging local health and care systems to prepare jointly for the winter months earlier this year, increasing resilience and preparedness for seasonal viruses such as flu or Covid.
In addition to the £600 million, as part of the government’s initiative to improve care for everyone across the country, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has today launched a new £10 million per year funding programme focused on social care research.
The Research Programme for Social Care will collect information on the people at the heart of care, providing government and the sector with clear paths on how they can improve, expand and strengthen social care for people in need of care, carers, the social care workforce, and the public.
If you would like to arrange an interview with Melanie Weatherley MBE, please contact Kate Strawson at Shooting Star by calling 07733 230293 or emailing kate@weareshootingstar.co.uk.
Notes for editors:
About the £600 Million Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund
- DHSC has published an accompanying policy statement here setting out details on how local authorities will receive the flexible funding to deliver these improvements as an expansion of the existing £1.4 billion MSIF.
- This is in addition to the historic up to £7.5 billion investment in social care the government announced in autumn 2022, as well as the government’s successful international recruitment policy and its domestic national recruitment campaign, Made with Care.
About the £10 million research fund:
- The Research Programme for Social Care is part of NIHR’s continued focus on building and improving social care research. Since 2006, the NIHR has awarded more than £200 million to social care research projects. The new programme stands alongside several other high-profile endeavours to provide evidence and support researchers and social care practitioners:
- NIHR’s School for Social Care Research, which aims to develop the evidence base for adult social care practice in England
- The Social Care Incubator, supported by NIHR, provides opportunities for researchers to learn about adult social care, related research and the opportunities that exist for developing research knowledge, skills, networks and projects in the sector.
- NIHR’s Applied Research Collaborations, each of which focus on social care as part of their applied health research. ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex is the ARC national priority lead for social care and social work.
- NIHR’s Policy Research Units, several of which focus on social care topics including Adult Social Care, Health and Social Care Workforce, Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning, the Economics of Health and Social Care, and Quality, Safety and Outcomes of Health and Social Care.
- The NIHR also runs the Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme, which funds research to produce rigorous and relevant evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health and social care services.
About the Lincolnshire Care Association
- Lincolnshire Care Association is a not-for-profit organisation supporting adult care providers of domiciliary care, end of life care, learning disabilities, mental health, nursing homes, residential care homes, and supported living within the independent and voluntary sectors in Lincolnshire.
- LinCA supports its members to get their voices heard, both locally and nationally, helping to provide better care across Lincolnshire.
- It plays a key role in promoting a positive image of the care sector, ensuring there is quality and choice in the provision of care services in Lincolnshire.
- Find out more by visiting https://www.linca.org.uk/
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