Infection control fund | Leicestershire County Council Professional Services Portal

The Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund (ICF) was first introduced in May 2020 and was initially worth £600 million. The purpose of this fund is to support adult social care providers, including those with whom the local authority does not have a contract, to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission within and between care settings, in particular by helping to reduce the need for staff movements between sites.

The Fund has been extended (ICF2) until March 2021, with an extra £546 million of funding. This is a new grant, with revised conditions from the original Infection Control Fund, brings the total ringfenced funding for infection prevention and control to £1.146 billion. This funding will be paid as a grant ring fenced exclusively for actions which support care homes and Care Quality Commission (CQC)-regulated community care providers mainly to tackle the risk of COVID-19 infections and is in addition to funding already received.

Full details of ICF2

Leicestershire funding

The grant of £6,136,534 for Leicestershire County Council will be paid in two equal instalments; the first was received 1 October and the second will be received in December 2020. Under the terms of the grant, the Council must pass on £3,442,125 to care homes and £1,467,102 to community care providers, together these payment make up 80% of the grant. The Council has discretion regarding the allocation of the remaining 20% of the grant, a sum of £1,227,307.

Overview

All funding must be used for COVID-19 infection control measures. Local authorities should pass 80% of each instalment to care homes within the local authority's geographical area on a 'per beds' basis and to CQC-regulated community care providers within the local authority's geographical area on a 'per user' basis, including to social care providers with whom the local authority does not have existing contracts.

The local authority has discretion to use the remaining 20% of each instalment on other COVID-19 infection control measures, including providing support to other care settings, and wider workforce measures in relation to COVID-19 infection control.

No payments should be made unless certain conditions are met, including the local authority being satisfied that the funding will be used for infection control purposes in line with the grant conditions stipulated. Clawback provisions apply to this fund including that the provider must repay any amounts not used for infection control measures.

The payment of the second instalment of the grant is contingent on local authorities having fully transferred the 80% 'per bed'/'per user' allocation of the first instalment to providers no longer than twenty working days after receipt of the funding and a number of other conditions relating to reporting, spend in October and planned spend to March 21.

In order to receive the second instalment, local authorities must also write to DHSC by 31 October, confirming that they have put in place a winter plan, and that they are working with care providers in their area on business continuity plans.

ICF2 - Specific measures PDF, 104 kbOpens new window

Information for providers

In order to receive funding, care providers will be required to adhere to the following requirements for the duration of the fund (until 31 March 2021):

care homes, including homes with self-funding residents and homes run by local authorities, will be required to have completed the Capacity Tracker at least twice (that is, 2 consecutive weeks), and have committed to completing the Tracker at least once per week
CQC-regulated community care providers, including those with exclusively self-funded clients, will be required to have completed the CQC homecare survey at least twice (that is, 2 consecutive weeks), and have committed to continuing to complete this survey (or any successor, as per government guidance) at least once per week.

To receive the second instalment of the fund, providers must have been completing the Capacity Tracker or CQC homecare survey (as per government guidance) at least once per week since they first received support from the new Infection Control Fund (which came into place on 1 October 2020).

ICF2 - Grant conditions for providers PDF, 93 kbOpens new window

Expenditure

Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) expectation is that the first instalment of the grant will be fully spent on the infection control measures outlined within 3 months, and the grant will be spent in its entirety by the 31 March 2021. If at 31 March 2021 there is any underspend or DHSC is not convinced that the fund has been spent according to the grant conditions outlined in the grant determination, DHSE may reduce, suspend or withhold grant payments or require the repayment of the whole or any part of the grant monies paid.

ICF2 - Examples of ways providers can spend funding

Further information

Further information and guidance will be available via online provider calls, forums and e-bulletins, for more information see the Working with you during Coronavirus section.

Care home plan - guide for local providers PDF, 1.2 mbOpens new window