A £22.6m government payment for innovative adult social care projects in England is almost two months overdue and is “in danger of disappearing”, a carers’ charity has warned.
The second tranche of the accelerating reform fund (ARF) was due to be paid to local authorities in August, enabling them to continue financing 122 projects to improve support for carers, enhance choice and control for people receiving care and boost training, among other things.
The fund was launched by the previous government and the first tranche – worth £20m – was paid by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in March 2024.
No confirmation on funding
The Carers Trust said the £22.6m had not yet been paid, and that neither councils nor its network of local carer organisations had had any indication from the DHSC when – or even if – it would be.
The charity pointed to the fact that the funding was not referenced by care minister Stephen Kinnock among government initiatives to support unpaid carers, in a parliamentary debate on the group last month
Also, since taking power, the Labour government has made significant cuts to adult social care funding planned by its predecessor, in order to tackle what it has described as a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances left by its predecessor 2024-25.
Adult social care cuts already made
This has involved cancelling the planned reform to the charging system, including an £86,000 cap on personal care costs, and cutting £115m in earmarked funding for adult social care training.
The latter included cutting the second round of a scheme to fund adult social work apprenticeships.
The Carers Trust’s policy and practice manager, Andy McGowan, said: “The government urgently needs to honour its commitments to them and provide the rest of this funding. At a minimum, that needs to happen at the Budget later this month.”
The Budget will take place on 30 October, when chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to set out government funding plans for 2025-26 as well as further in-year cuts to public spending in 2024-25. This may include scrapping the second tranche of the ARF.
‘Crucial projects could be scrapped’
“Without this money, more than 100 crucial projects could be scrapped,” McGowan added. “The timing would be catastrophic, coming just as we enter the winter months when pressure on social care and carers is so acute.”
Community Care asked the DHSC whether it could confirm whether the ARF funding would be paid.
In response, a DHSC spokesperson said: “We are committed to tackling the significant challenges facing social care, and we will work closely with the sector and across government on our plans for effective reform.
“As part of this, we are committed to making sure unpaid carers are better able to look after their own health and wellbeing, and not just the health and wellbeing of those they care for.”
About the accelerating reform fund
The ARF, announced in October 2023, is designed to support the adoption and scaling up of innovative practice in adult social care, to help meet three objectives for people receiving care and support, set by the previous government: having choice, control and support to live independent lives, outstanding quality and tailored care and support, and fair and accessible adult social care.
Beneath the three objectives sat 12 priorities, which are the focus of ARF funding. In relation to promoting choice, control and independence, these include supporting community-based care models, such as shared lives, and providing unpaid carers with more tailored breaks; on care quality, priorities include improving carers’ assessments and using digital tools to support workforce recruitment and retention; and on fairness and accessibility, they include improving the identification of carers and doing more to help people identify themselves as carers.
Councils were asked to group themselves into consortia, based on the 42 NHS integrated care board areas, to receive the funding, which is managed by a lead authority. Each consortia was given £300,000 for set-up costs, with the remaining funding allocated based on the government’s adult social care relative needs formula. The first £20m (including set-up costs) was allocated in March 2024.
The DHSC commissioned the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to support consortia use their ARF funding. According to SCIE, the ARF is funding 122 projects, delivered by 35 providers.
Of the projects, seven in ten have an element supporting unpaid carers. The most common of the 12 priorities supported by projects are identifying unpaid carers and encouraging people to recognise themselves as carers (each of which has been identified by 33 projects).
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 
Hampshire County Council 
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I’m getting worried about this government. Social care surely can’t be worse off under a labour government than a Tory one.
What is going on?
Who knows? I do not trust Labour any more than the Tories.