Decision details

Date of Decision:

3 December 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:

To allocate the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund October 2021 in the following three areas:

1. £288,000 to commission a Rapid Response Service Winter Pilot from 3 of the current FPS framework of providers. An Exemption to Finance and Procurement Procedure Rules is required to direct award and the levels of capacity, capability and interest will be taken into consideration when choosing the providers.

2. £553,372 to CQC registered providers, registered in Rotherham, on a per staff number basis - using data from the NHS Capacity Tracker.

To be used to deliver measures that address local workforce capacity pressures through recruitment and retention activity.

3. £69,500 to the Council’s accommodation based services (these services will be excluded from receiving an allocation from the funds described at 2).

The allocation will support with staff retention/ recruitment and address the difficult capacity issues in relation to delivery of critical services, in alignment with the Council’s specific Provider Services winter planning. 

Providers will be asked to certify the expenditure at the end of the reporting period and any unspent allocations will be returned to the Council.

Any unspent grant funding will then be returned to Government.

Reasons for the Decision:

On the 3 November 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published details of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund.

The Fund covers the period 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 and will provide an additional £162.5 million to support Adult Social Care.

Rotherham’s total allocation is £910,872 and will be received in two tranches. Therefore, any payments made to providers will also be made in two tranches in December 2021 (60%) and Jan/Feb 2022 (40%).

The Fund has clear eligibility criteria, is time limited, and all spend, and activity must be completed by 31 March 2022.

There are no mandatory elements to the Fund and Councils are required to determine themselves how the monies are distributed. There is however clear guidance on the type of activity that the money can be spent on.

The Council has facilitated the distribution of the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund October 2021 in accordance with the grant conditions. This is recorded via the Record of Officer Executive Decision from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.  

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

There were no alternative options considered as the fund has clear eligibility criteria, is time limited, and all spend, and activity must be completed by 31 March 2022.

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.