Current grants and grant conditions, March 2021

Purpose

ICF2 is an extension of the Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund which was first introduced in May 2020. It is intended to support adult social care providers to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission.

Conditions and passporting rules

Please note funding conditions have been revised since ICF1.

Of total funds allocated, 80 per cent is to be passed directly to care homes within a local authority's (LA) geographic area on a ‘per bed’ basis and CQC-regulated providers on a ‘per user’ basis. This includes providers with whom the LA does not have a contract. The further 20 per cent can be allocated at the LA’s discretion to support providers to tackle the risk of COVID-19 infections.

Funding can be used to pay staff who are self-isolating with suspected COVID-19 symptoms, rather than only after a positive test, but individuals must be seeking to confirm whether they do have COVID through a test. The funding cannot be used to pay staff who are off sick with conditions other than COVID-19, to top up the pay of staff who are furloughed, or to pay staff who are shielding.

Reporting requirements

LAs must submit monthly returns specifying how the grant has been spent. LAs must seek assurance that all funding passed to providers is spent on infection prevention and control measures. The remaining reporting points are:

Reporting point 4: 26 February (spending up to end of January and planned spending for the entirety of the fund).

Reporting point 5: 31 March (spending up to end of February and planned spending for the entirety of the fund).

Reporting point 6: 30 April (spending up to the end of March and end of the fund).

End of funding period

Funding must be fully spent by 31 March.

More information/ resources

A list of appropriate infection prevention and control measures which can be covered by the ICF2 grant and suggested uses for the 20 per cent of the funding to be allocated at LA discretion is covered in the Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund round 2 guidance. The LA reporting template will be made available before the reporting point in Annexe E of the guidance.

Purpose

The fund is intended to enable LAs to support all providers of adult social care in managing workforce pressures by extending the capacity of the existing workforce (e.g. by paying staff overtime or enabling staff to work more flexibly) or by growing and developing the workforce (e.g. through recruitment and training for new staff).

Conditions and passporting rules

LAs can use the funding to support any provider, inc. those with whom they do not have contracts and non-CQC registered providers. However, LAs may passport funding directly to CQC registered providers only. Providers may use the funding to support new expenditure or expand existing activity not already funded by other grants (e.g. cannot be used to pay self-isolating staff as covered by ICF2).

Reporting requirements

The second return is due on 5th March. LAs should use this to confirm that they have been able to take forward planned activities, and report on outputs delivered so far. The third return is due 15th May. LAs must demonstrate how the fund has been used to support workforce capacity. DHSC will provide LAs with a template for this return.

End of funding period

Funding must be fully spent by 31 March and all activities must have taken place by this date (e.g. training cannot be purchased before 31 March to be used after the end of the fund). 

More information/ resources

An FAQ by the LGA answers some common questions about acceptable use of the funding.

A full breakdown of the data requested for reporting points 2 and 3 is contained in Annexe C of the DHSC guidance.

The reporting point 2 template is Annexe F of the guidance.

Purpose

This funding is to support additional lateral flow device (LFD) testing in care homes, for staff, visiting professionals and to enable indoor, close contact visiting where possible. It can be used for staff training, carrying out LFD testing, recruitment costs to facilitate increased testing, costs associated with the creation of a separate testing area for staff and visitors and costs of disposal of LFD tests and testing equipment. 

Conditions and passporting rules

Of the total allocated funding, 80 per cent should be passed on to care homes within the LA’s geographical area on a ‘per bed’ basis. This includes residential drug and alcohol services and includes providers with whom the LA does not have a contract. The remaining 20 per cent can be allocated at the LA’s discretion to implement increased LFD testing. 

Reporting requirements

Monthly returns are to be submitted as part of the ICF 2 returns at the following points: 

Reporting point 4: 26 February (spending December-January).

Reporting point 5: 31 March (spending December-February).

Reporting point 6: 30 April (spending December-March).

End of funding period

This fund supports expenditure from 2 December 2020 up to and including 31 March 2021.

More information/resources

A list of measures that the funding can be used for and detailed lists of requirements for LAs and providers are available in the Adult Social Care Rapid Testing Fund guidance.

The LA reporting template is contained in Annexe E of the ICF2 guidance.