Decision details

Date of Decision:

30 November 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Anne Marie Lubanski

Strategic Director, Adult Care, Housing and Public Health

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

The South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (ICS) has released some non-recurrent funding to support Adult Social Care over the winter period.

Rotherham has been allocated £1.76m to enact a market uplift across Adult Social Care Services, brought forward from the inflationary increases due as of 1 April 2022 (subject to Council approval of the Budget) to 1st December 2021. These uplifts include a 6.62% increase on the staffing element of providers costs, which will incorporate the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) increase before 1April 2022.

The Decision proposes increasing the rate paid for Care Provision using this funding when paying for Adult Social Care provision.  

This decision only covers the period December 2021 to March 2022 as any continuation is subject to Council approval of the Budget.  Increasing fee rates before the new financial year has only been made possible due to the additional funding from the ICS and won’t be repeated in future years unless further additional funding is provided.

Reasons for the Decision:

The purpose of the funding is to support the continued workforce challenges across the Adult Social Care market, by encouraging people to remain in or join the sector with competitive rates of pay.

The total uplift proposed for each sector is based on a weighted average cost incorporating the NLW increase and CPI, with the exception of respite and shared lives where the cost of services are managed differently. Older people’s care homes and home care providers will receive an additional increase following the detailed cost of care review in 2020/21 which provided for supplementary increases over 3 years (referenced in last year’s Budget).

Discussions with care providers have highlighted that the ability to pay staff a competitive rate is a key issue, especially in view of the significant wage inflation within retail, hospitality, and the NHS.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

None considered.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

N/A

Reports or parts of reports considered

None considered.