As has been reported by News OnTheWight over the last two years, the Care sector has been dealing with a recruitment crisis.
In 2020, the Government introduced a grant scheme to help employers in the Adult Social Care sector recruit and retain staff. Near the end of 2021, a second year of funding was announced.
In the most recent two rounds of funding (2021/22), Isle of Wight Council has received £1,476,946 from the Government as part of the Workforce Capacity Fund for Adult Social Care to distribute to care providers.
Has the money been distributed?
In mid-December News OnTheWight put some questions to the Isle of Wight council to see how far through the process of distributing the cash they are, after a care worker on the Island told us that she didn’t know anything about it and there was no evidence of any payments where she works.
Barely enough to “buy a few boxes of Celebrations”
According to a report in The Guardian, the grants equate to £150 and £155 a worker in some counties and as low as £60 in Norfolk, where one angry manager said it was barely enough to “buy a few boxes of Celebrations”.
Question misunderstood
News OnTheWight’s original questions to IWC were in relation to funding in the 2020/21 financial year. The query was misunderstood by the IWC and they replied only in relation to the latest funding (2021/22), despite us making the point that the money had to be spent by March 2021.
We’ve put original questions back to them – in relation to the 2020/21 funding – hopefully it won’t take another month to materialise.
The answers
Q1: Has the Isle of Wight council begun distributing the Workforce Capacity Fund for Adult Social Care grant?
Yes we have begun the process of distributing monies from this fund.
Q2: If so, please detail how funds have been / will be distributed.
We have engaged with local care home and home care providers and have asked them to identify initiatives that can be funded to support them in recruiting and retaining their staff.
The Council will also be utilising these funds to support development of Island wide social care workforce recruitment and retention activities, which will include recruitment and publicity campaigns, wellbeing offers for social care staff, a new fast track training programme with IOW college and to support the Isle of Wight Care Partnerships annual Care Awards to recognise the hard work and dedication of the local social care workforce.
Q3: Different areas of the country have received differing amounts – What was the application process? E.g. Did you request an amount per worker?
Funding was allocated by central government on a formula which they have developed.
There was no opportunity for local authorities to influence the funding allocated.
Q4: How many IW care workers will benefit from this money?
It is our intention that as many local care workers benefit as possible. Each of the schemes funded will have robust monitoring requirements to ensure that the funds are properly spent.
We will identify as part of this process the total number of care workers benefiting from each of the activities.
Q6: Do the care homes/facilities get any of the money themselves?
Yes they will. All care homes and home care providers have been invited to access the funding
Q7: Please advise (in a spreadsheet) the names of IW care providers who have received these funds, and how much?
All payments will be made to providers by 31st March 2022 and a summary of payments made will be available after then.
News OnTheWight will update readers once we have details of the 2020/21 payments.
Image: Images Money under CC BY 2.0
