Care England, the largest representative body of independent adult social care providers, has reached out to the Government to provide continuity of COVID related packages for the care sector.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:

“Unfortunately, COVID doesn’t end on 31 March yet many of the Government relief packages come to a halt then including the Infection Control Fund”.

Care England wrote to the Care Minister, Helen Whately MP, thanking her for the packages put in place during the pandemic and provided some suggestions as to how future funding could be administered in order to provide certainty and confidence for providers, staff, residents and relatives.

Care England proposed that future funds could be adapted to lessen the administrative burden with simplified reporting structures. Of special concern is the continuation of the Infection Control Fund, now in its second iteration. This fund, intended to reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission within and between care settings, expires on 31 March.

Martin Green continues:

“The costs associated with the pandemic are by no means going to subside in the short term, this is of particular concern given the low fees currently being proposed by many local authorities for 2021/22; as such we would welcome support from the Government. Indeed, it is imperative that any such funds reach the frontline and are not wasted in a tangle of bureaucracy”.