NHS and Social Care Financial Recognition Scheme

16 June 2022

 

Dear

ATISN 16340 – NHS and Social Care Financial Recognition Scheme

Thank you for your request which I received on 19 May 2022 and which you were able to clarify that you wished for the following information to be provided:   

1. Total number of staff offered the Financial Recognition Scheme
2. Total number of staff who were then declined the Financial Recognition Scheme
3. Reasons why staff were originally declined at this initial stage
4. Total number of staff accessed the appeal stage 1 and were successful in having their original decline overturned
5. Total number of staff access the appeal stage 1 and were unsuccessful in having their original decline overturned
6. Reasons why staff’s stage 1 was declined
7. Total number of staff who were unsuccessful at the appeals stage 1 then accessed the stage 2 appeals process.
8. Total number of staff who were successful at stage 2 to have their original decline overturned.
9. Total number of staff who were unsuccessful to have their original decision overturned
10. Reasons why staff’s stage 2 appeal was declined  
11. When was the closing date for the Financial Recognition Scheme agreed?
12. How was the closing date for the Financial Recognition Scheme communicated?

All of the information is required for across Wales.

Quantitative data please for points 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9

Qualitative data please for points , 3, 6, 10, 11 and 12

Our response

We explained in our acknowledgement letter dated 23 May 2022, that Welsh Government did not hold the information relating to Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and advised that the NHS and Social Care Financial Recognition scheme was delivered by the 22 local authorities and therefore you may wish to contact them. Councils in Wales - Contact Details - WLGA

Eligible staff directly employed by NHS organisations were paid through NHS payroll services within NHS Wales Shared Services Partnerships.

Question 1

The NHS and social care financial recognition payment scheme was announced on 17 March 2021 by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Written Statement: Financial recognition for NHS and social care workers (17 March 2021) 

The Written Statement does not mention potential numbers of staff who may be included.

A press notice released on 17 March refers to estimates that the scheme would benefit up to 221,945 people in Wales including 103,600 social care staff. This was based on a scoping study that the Business Unit of the Association of Directors of Social Services Wales (ADSSC) had been asked to undertake. This was not a public exercise and was not considered to be indicative of the eligibility of any specific individuals or staff groups for the scheme.

The eligibility criteria for the scheme had not been agreed at this stage and officials were meeting with stakeholders (including trade unions, provider representatives and ADSSC).  The scheme guidance for social care workers was published on 20 April 2021: NHS and social care financial recognition scheme: guidance for social care workers

Numbers are not mentioned in the scheme guidance.

Question 8

76

Question 9

237

Question 10

Reasons why staff’s stage 2 appeal was declined:  

• Role was not located within the local authority Social Services Directorate.
• Role was Families First / Flying Start funded or staff in services commissioned by

Families First.

• Role was not sufficiently closely aligned with social care.
• Role did not exceed providing general support and advice and did not therefore meet the eligibility for the scheme outlined.

Question 11

The timing for delivery of the scheme was discussed with the stakeholder group. All local authorities were sent an implementation guidance document on 20 April 2021, which stated:

Timing of payments and claims

Employers should seek to start making the payments to their staff via payroll as quickly as possible and by the end of September 2021.  Payments beyond this date (with the exception of staged payments) will only be funded on an exceptional basis.

Employers should submit any claims for employer’s national insurance and or pension costs within eight weeks of receiving funding for the £735 payments.  Failure to do so may result in these claims not being paid.

All claims from employers to local authorities must be submitted by 31 October 2021.

Local authorities should re-claim the funding they have provided to employers from the Welsh Government by 31 December 2021.

Question 12

The published guidance outlined the role of the local authorities in delivering the payments for this scheme:
 

Local authorities have overall responsibility for managing the delivery of the scheme with respect to social care. They are responsible for contacting social care services to collect information on eligible staff. Local authorities will issue claim forms to social care employers who will pass these on to staff. Claim forms will not be made available by any other means. Individuals should raise any concerns they have about any aspect of the process with their employer/former employer who should bring this to the attention of the local authority.

Welsh Government did not issue specific communications about the end of the scheme. Local authorities were expected to work with the social care providers in their areas to deliver the scheme from April 2021. The implementation guidance which local authorities worked from advised them to have processed payments to employers by the end of September 2021, if at all possible.

There were subsequent exercises to process employers’ contributions and administration charges by 31 October 2021. Local authorities were requested to re-claim the funding they had provided to employers from the Welsh Government by 31 December 2021.

Next Steps

If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response.  Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at:

Information Rights Unit, 
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park, 
Cardiff, 
CF10 3NQ 

or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales

Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above.   

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF.

However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.

Yours sincerely