Councils to receive delayed £22.6m in adult social care innovation funding

Councils will receive £22.6m in delayed adult social care innovation funding next week, the government has confirmed.

It confirmed today that the second tranche of the accelerating reform fund (ARF) would be paid out, following concerns from charity the Carers Trust that the money risked disappearing.

The ARF was set up by the previous Conservative government to support the adoption and scaling up of innovative practice in adult social care, in order to boost choice and control and the quality and accessibility of services.

It provided £20m in March to consortia of local authorities for each of the 42 NHS integrated care board areas. They have used this to fund 123 projects, 70% of which have an element that supports unpaid carers, including using digital tools to improving identification, assessment and support.

The second tranche was due in August, said the Carers Trust, and in October, the charity reported that there was no indication of when or if it would be paid by the incoming Labour government.

Announcing the funding today, care minister Stephen Kinnock said: “This funding will allow local authorities to harness the full potential of technology to give carers more flexibility and help with these crucial roles.”