Workforce retention and recruitment fund - Find a freedom of information request

Last December, the Government announced a £462.5m workforce retention and recruitment fund in response to the staffing crisis facing the sector. The cash which was for bonuses, overtime and bringing forward planned pay rises for care staff was available to local authorities until the end of this March.

Some Authorities we believe have given some of this money to CQC registered companies as a one-off payment of £600 to their staff.

1. I would like to request that the County Council, under a Freedom of Information Request, please advise how much the Authority received in this funding and how it was spent. Specifically advising if CQC registered companies did in fact receive money to distribute and retain staff.

a. In the event that this is the case, can you please explain how this is not discrimination against those disabled people who run their own social care budgets via personal budgets under Equality Act 2010. My claim for discrimination is based on the Norfolk Judicial Review case, where the judge stated that blanket rules for people are considered discriminatory, and individual circumstances should be taken into account. In this case, the individual circumstances of those who choose to run their own personal budgets.

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC). I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

1. LCC received the following Workforce Grant Funding:

Grant 1 • Total received = £2,280,383 • Total passported to providers = £1,961,845 (All CQC registered)

• Workforce Innovation fund = £25,508

• Strategic Market Support design/ development campaign = £46,393

• Amount remaining/ not claimed by providers = £246,638

Grant 2 • Total Received = £4,209,937

• Total Passported to providers = £3,851,097 (All CQC registered)

• Amount remaining/ not claimed by providers = £358,840

a. This is not a valid request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.