Infection Control Fund to be extended in England

The Government has announced there will be a further tranche of funding under the Infection Control Fund in England. An an extra £546 million will be available to help halt transmission of COVID-19 throughout winter. As before, the bulk will aimed at care homes but we understand this time the funding may include a percentage that must be spent on homecare.

Colin Angel, UKHCA Policy Director, gave the following quote to the press:

“We understand that the grant determination letter, which will set-out the conditions of how the next iteration of the ICF can be used, may not be published until next week. UKHCA has been pressing Government to ensure that homecare services, including those which support people who fund their own care, are covered by the ICF, rather than relying on a postcode lottery of individual council’s decisions. We have also made the case that the ICF should be allowed to help employers ensure that staff are able to pay the wages of workers who are required to self-isolate.”

Homecare Insight article quoting UKHCA

More detail is expected in the Government's Adult Social Care Winter Plan, due out later today, and in next week's grant determination letter. We will email UKHCA members about these when we have the documents.

Government Press release - More than £500 million for social care to reduce
coronavirus transmission over winter