Issue - meetings

Better Care Fund

Meeting: 19/10/2021 - Cabinet (Item 5)

5 Better Care Fund pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Background:

 

This report provided an update on Medway’s 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, Cabinet had agreed in March 2021 to further extend Medway’s current BCF and S75 arrangements, to allow the services which sit within the BCF to continue to operate seamlessly until Government issue new planning guidance for 2021/22.

 

A new National BCF policy framework had since been published. The planning template, including national conditions for 2021/22, had also been released on 1 October 2021 for submission by 11 November 2021.  A new BCF narrative plan had been developed, which was attached to the report at Appendix A and the report sought delegated authority to complete the BCF planning template and to agree any necessary extension of the new BCF plan and S75 in 2022/23, to cover possible delays in the release of BCF planning guidance for the coming financial year.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

111/2021

The Cabinet agreed to delegate authority for the development and delivery of Medway’s Better Care Fund programme to the Director of People - Children and Adults Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adults’ Services, the Assistant Director, Legal and Governance and the Director of Integrated Care Commissioning, Medway and Swale, on behalf of the Kent and Medway CCG.

112/2021

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 Assistant Director, Legal and Governance and the Director of Integrated Care Commissioning, Medway and Swale, on behalf of the Kent and Medway CCG, to agree any necessary extension of the new BCF plan and S75 in 2022/23, to cover possible delays from Government in the release of BCF planning guidance for the coming financial year.

 

Reasons:

 

Enabling these delegations allows the services which sit within the BCF to continue to operate seamlessly until the Government issue new planning guidance for 2021/22 and will enable Medway’s Better Care Fund programme to be developed and submitted by the 11 November 2021 deadline.