Dear Provider,
The Care Provider Alliance (CPA) is working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in respect of the Fair Cost of Care (FCC) exercise and Market Sustainability Plan across both the home care and care home sector. The CPA be sending updates, information, and FAQs via its member associations directly to care providers throughout the process to drive engagement and respond to questions and issues which surface in order to seek swift resolution.
The CPA believes currently that it is critical that providers engage in the FCC data collection exercise to determine the actual cost of providing ‘high quality’ care nationally to seek the appropriate level of funding from the government. This is a one-off chance to evidence the cost of provision locally and nationally to compensate providers appropriately against the reforms to be introduced such as the Cap on Care, FCC and the implementation of Section 18(3) of the Care Act, which will see those self-funding their own care to access the local authorities rate paid for care.
If you would like to receive regular updates, support materials, guidance and FAQs directly from the CPA related to the FCC and Market Sustainability Plan process, please send an email to FCC@careprovideralliance.org.uk with your expression of interest and we will add you to the contact list.
DHSC Requirements and Guidance
On Friday 25th March DHSC published the Market sustainability and fair cost of care fund 2022 to 2023: guidance, which follows the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund announcement in Dec 2021. Local Authorities have been sent updates in the week commencing the 4th of April which have started to filter through to providers already.
Home Care Toolkit and Support
The Home Care Cost of Care Tool and Guidance can now be accessed on the LGA website via this link Homecare Cost of Care Toolkit. All FCC related tools, support and information will be posted via this link in future. This web page and the tool itself are publicly accessible and may be shared with providers by Local Authorities who have chosen to adopt this model to collect home care costs as part of their FCC and Market Sustainability Plan process.
Care Home Cost of Care Toolkit
The Care and Health Improvement Programme (CHIP), jointly delivered by ADASS and the LGA, has also commissioned a Care Home Cost of Care Tool that will be freely available to all councils and providers. A small number of provider and local authority colleagues have been invited to actively participate in the development finalisation of the tool which will be available to Local Authorities week commencing the 16th of May. Those providers will be attending workshops over the next 4 weeks and will test the tool with data in early May prior to the tools launch week commencing the 16th of May. We will then expect to see the tool shared with providers by those Local Authorities who agree to use it.
Cost of Care – Support
Now the DHSC guidance has been published, and the sector is clearer on what is required, Councils are able to commission their own support and at a national level a variety of support is being developed by CHIP. The CPA is working with CHIP on this to ensure the right support is available to councils and care providers as they deliver cost of care work in the next 6 months. Further details of this support and how it can be accessed will be shared through these communications.
It is important we collect as much feedback from providers as possible and would appreciate if providers could participate in a very short survey before the 25th April. Data from this survey and follow-up surveys over the coming weeks will continue to shape the Care Home Cost of Care tool and guidance for providers.
The tool developer is running open sessions for all care providers on the Care Home tool during April and early May regarding, what it will do, updates on its development, and how Local Authorities will be gaining access to it upon release. In order for care providers to book onto an awareness session, they will need to register their interest by clicking here. Upon registration they will receive a confirmation email with the link to join the relevant session.
If you have any questions or concerns in respect to this process, please email FCC@careprovideralliance.org.uk and we will seek answers for you.
Yours truly,
Professor Martin Green OBE
Chair of the Care Provider Alliance
