In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, please can you provide answers details on the 1St lot of IPC (infection, prevention and control) grants;
1) How many care services operate within your local authority?
It is not possible to answer how many care services operate within our local authority. The term used “care service” is very broad and without a more defined description of a care service it incorporates a vast number of support activities including many small private arrangements.
Devon County Council (DCC) currently holds 1,970 adults contracts with 871 unique provider to deliver care but works with many more through direct payment arrangements and other privately funded provisions.
2) How many care services had opportunity to access the IPC grant?
The IPC grant was not an open grant process for all care services to apply for but a grant from the Government with a very clear focus on supporting care homes with their infection control measures.
The Government stipulated that 75% of the IPC grant was to be distributed to all care homes registered in the Devon County Council authority area regardless as to whether DCC directly worked with them.
The 25% gave Councils more discretion around its allocation but still with a clear focus on infection control. Devon County Council prioritised the focus of this financial support to Care homes, properties where care and support is provided to multiple people in the property and on ensuring personal protective equipment (PPE) was available across the market. Further information is available below in our response in Q3
The Provider Engagement Network run by DCC is open to all providers working in the DCC footprint or out of the county but with whom DCC contracts. The website is the primary communication tool enabling DCC to inform providers of all support available to then and to enable any provider to request support or identify any needs they had regardless of whether they held a DCC contract.
3) How many care services (% or number) were able to successfully claim the full amount of the grant available to them?
The 75% payment went to 310 care home services/providers based on CQC bed numbers and was based on the Government criteria detailing how the grant was to be allocated
The remaining 25% payment prioritised across the following number of services who received funds;
• Care Home 3rd Payment – 299 services/providers. These services/providers would be the same as the ones that received 75% of funds in the email below.
• HwS – 61 providers/services.
• 1:1 targeted support – some money went to 4 care homes for support with 14 day isolation targeted support. Again these 4 care homes would be already counted in the 310 mentioned below
• PPE payments – 736 payments to unique entities (services), however of these 736, 310 were care homes already mentioned as receiving grant from the 75%.
• All remaining funds were used to purchase additional PPE stock that was distributed to care services across Devon as required.
4) How many care services (% or number) were able to successfully claim part of the grant available to them?
1 care home received part payment – i.e. received 1st payment but then closed so did not receive 2nd payment.
5) How many care services (% or number) were unable to make any claim against the grant available to them?
The ones that didn’t receive from the 75% allocation totalled 18 and were due to closures, de-registration, care hotel or chose not to receive the grant.
6) Of those who made part or no claim, what were the reasons they were unable to utilise this fund?
This was not a grant that providers made a claim for as it was distributed through an allocation process based on the Governments guidance and the known providers delivering care and support to multiple people in a property. We do not hold data for providers that did not claim PPE support only for those that did.
7) Have any changes been or proposed to be made for the next round of grant?
The Government Guidance around the 2nd grant has changed and DCC has distributed the grant in accordance with this guidance. There has not been the same investment in PPE distribution as national PPE support is now available however local provision for unregulated providers has been maintained to support them.