Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support arrangements for social care providers

Introduction

This guidance sets out the arrangements for providing financial support to social care providers for costs relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers support for sustained, significant impacts to service delivery, and the commitment to meet reasonable additional costs both incurred as a result of the pandemic. Any costs incurred prior to December 2020 should be treated in line with the appropriate version of the provider sustainability principles. This agreement has been reached in recognition that further, more targeted, support will be necessary to ensure the social care sector remains sustainable and continues to deliver high quality care and support to ensure people’s needs are met and the workforce is supported in response to the pandemic.

The guidance aims to:

• deliver clear, straightforward arrangements
• reduce bureaucracy and staff time involved in its implementation
• reduce uncertainty for supported people, providers and commissioners of services

This guidance will be periodically reviewed to ensure that the arrangements in place remain appropriate. This will be done in partnership with representatives from the sector. This guidance is only for services that are delegated to the Integration Joint Boards as it is linked to the political agreement to meet reasonable additional costs through the Local Mobilisation Plans.

Ongoing, responsive, and collaborative direct dialogue between providers and commissioners is essential alongside this guidance.

Guidance

Relating to services and supports where there is a sustained, significant impact on delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or where additional costs have been incurred as a result of the pandemic:

The following sections set out:

• the criteria that need to be met for financial support for care and support that cannot be delivered as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• categories of additional costs that may be met, where not met by other funding sources or payments for care and support that cannot be delivered as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• details of the approach to providing supporting evidence for costs
• key principles relating to requesting and making payments for providers and commissioners