Local Authorities

Local Authorities
We are currently working with Oxfordshire County Council and Bradford Council to support care workers needing financial support during the current cost of living crisis. These crisis grants are ring fenced to the authority area, with local authorities agreeing what can be funded, depending on local need including payment towards fuel costs, daily living expenses, rent arrears etc. The grants are administered by an experienced Grants team and there is an administration cost included in the contract price

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Improving Care Worker Retention

Adult social care providers are struggling to retain care workers in the aftermath of covid and during a cost of living crisis – Skills for Care estimate that the sector lost 150,000 staff last year.

The Care Workers’ Charity provides grants and mental health support to care workers in crisis and our case studies demonstrate that our grants support retention in the sector.

We can support you to keep local care workers and Personal Assistants in the jobs they love.

Option 1: Grants to support local care worker retention
Allocate funding for care workers working and living in your Local Authority area and work with us to create a set of eligibility criteria which ensures the money reaches the people who most need it. This would be modelled on our flagship Crisis Grants programme. Care workers receive grants within two weeks* of applying to help with daily living costs, purchasing white goods and paying for a funeral for a loved one.
Option 2: Targeted support for Personal Assistants in your area
Allocate funding for Personal Assistants working and living in your Local Authority area to tackle higher vacancy rates and unequal access to support. As above this would be modelled on our flagship Crisis Grants programme.

Both options to include:

  • Marketing, communications and social media: We will work closely with care providers and care associations in your area in order to raise awareness of this programme, using social media and boosted posts to directly reach care workers. To promote PA grants, we will also reach out to Direct Payment Support Organisations and Think Local Act Personal.
  • Reporting: We will provide regular reports showing how the funding has been spent, demographic data and other information as agreed.

 

We have partnered with several councils to deliver place-based funding to care workers including Oxfordshire County Council, Bradford Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

Hear from one of our partners:

“Oxfordshire County Council has worked closely with the Care Workers Charity to deliver and fine tune a grant offer to our social care workforce. The scheme has become a huge success, due in no small part to the support of the charity who has delivered strong communication to providers, delivered changes to the grant criteria swiftly to react to changing need and provided applicants with a straightforward online application process. Crucially, applications are processed quickly so people receive funds fast to deal with financial pressures. We have recently extended our partnership with the charity for another year and will work together to find more innovative ways to support social care workers across the county.”

Will Gardner
Strategic Commissioner – Workforce
Oxfordshire County Council HESC

To find out more about how we can work with your Local Authority, please contact Victoria Newton-Cutler: Victoria.nc@thecwc.org.uk