The Government has announced an extra £120 million for councils to help tackle staffing issues in adult social care.
The money can be used for additional care staff where shortages arise, support for administrative tasks so experienced and skilled staff can focus on providing care and help, and overtime payments or help with childcare costs so existing staff can take on extra hours, if they wish.
This will build on what many councils already have in place to increase capacity and fill staffing gaps, such as: care worker staff banks, where new recruits are paid during training; redeployment models, where DBS-checked staff are trained and moved into operational roles; and end-to-end training and recruitment services.
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Social care has been on the frontline throughout the coronavirus pandemic and our dedicated staff rightly need as much support as possible during this incredibly challenging period.
“Going forward, all of those using and working in social care need a sustainable, long-term funding solution to how we provide care and support, which allows people to live the lives they want to lead. We look forward to government bringing forward its proposals at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The Government has also published the allocations and grant conditions for its £149 million Adult Social Care Rapid Testing Fund, to support the rollout of additional ‘lateral flow’ testing of care home staff and visitors.