On 14 May, the Care Minister Helen Whately wrote to Council Leaders (including me) setting out the government's plans for supporting care homes in tackling the impacts of Covid-19, including a £600 million Infection Control Fund. It also has a significant role for local authorities.
The Infection Control Fund (Kent's share of which is almost £19 million) will be channelled through local authorities, although three quarters of it will be allocated to care homes on a sum per bed formula. However, local authorities will have a role in assuring that the money is spent on infection control, as well as drawing up, along with local NHS leaders, a Care Home Support Plan. This is incorporated in a letter setting out both the financial (and other) support that the local authority is providing to the sector and the mechanisms of monitoring and support to the sector in tackling infection. The letter is accompanied by a completed template profiling the situation of the care sector in terms of infection control.
As the County Councils Network pointed out, this is a significant extension of the role of local authorities in social care, both in terms of taking us into a more regulatory role and in building connections with the many care homes with whom we do not have a direct relationship (since they support only 'self-funders' rather than those supported by KCC). Although it raises legal, capacity and other challenges for local authorities, it is in my view (and that of KCC0 overall a welcome and certainly important step.
Care Home Support Plans were required to be submitted on Friday, 29 May. You can find Kent's letter and completed template via this page of the KCC website.
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