Issue - meetings

Better Care Fund

Meeting: 02/03/2021 - Cabinet (Item 5)

5 Better Care Fund pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Background:

 

This report provided details of the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan for 2021-2022. The report explained that local areas were required to keep their existing BCF Plans (2017-2019) in place to cover the 2020/21 financial year, due to the response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. It was anticipated that the current BCF arrangements and S75 would need to be extended again to allow the services that sit within the BCF to continue to operate seamlessly until Government issued new planning guidance for 2021-22. Areas would need to produce a new BCF plan for assurance locally and nationally upon release of this guidance.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

34/2021

The Cabinet agreed an extension of the existing Better Care Fund Plan and S75 arrangements to cover the financial year 2021/22, until a new arrangement can be established following receipt of government guidance.

35/2021

The Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Director of People - Children and Adults Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adults’ Services, the Chief Legal Officer and the Director of Medway and Swale ICP (on behalf of the Kent and Medway CCG) to oversee production of any new BCF plans in line with government guidance and the for the development and delivery of Medway’s Better Care Fund programme.

 

Reasons:

 

This will enable the services which sit within the BCF to continue to operate seamlessly until Government issue new planning guidance for 2021/22.

 

Following receipt of national policy guidance requiring significant revisions to the existing BCF plan, a reporting timetable to return to Cabinet and Health and Wellbeing Board will be established. The Health and Wellbeing Board will be asked to support any new BCF plan. The delivery of the Plan’s programme of works will be considered and monitored by the Joint Commissioning Management Group and highlight papers will go to the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body.