Care England - Members Voice, Your Questions Answered

MEMBERS' VOICE

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Your questions answered

At Care England, we are always keen to hear from our members and we strive to answer any questions and queries our members may have. In our first issue of Savings, Solutions, and Sustainability, George Appleton, Head of Policy at Care England, and Charlotte Lezard, Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Care England, provide the answers to support providers to go digital, update on local authority commissioning and share how Care England is creating policies around net zero and climate change.

Care England Member: What support is available to help us digitise and move from paper-based records to digital?

George Appleton: As part of the Government’s programme to digitise the adult social care sector, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it's committed to digitising 80% of care providers through the adoption of digital social care records by March 2024. To support care providers with this programme, the Government has provided funding through the Digitising Transformation Fund.

This fund is channelled through Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and, in some areas, supports up to 50% of the costs for the implementation of Digital Social Care Records (DSCRs).

We are now in the second phase of funding and there is a core focus on engaging with care providers who have not yet participated in the fund. You can learn more about how to engage and work with your local ICSs via the Digitising Social Care website.

Member: We are looking at the need to be more aware of our environmental impact and the mitigations we need to make, particularly updating our policies around net zero and climate change.

What is Care England doing to support this?

Charlotte Lezard: In April, we ran a roundtable to examine initiatives care providers have or are instigating to tackle their environmental impact and drive towards net zero. The notes can be requested by contacting info@careengland.org.uk. We also ran a series of webinars with CBRE, each focusing on a different element of ESG. Please see the recordings for these webinars, which are accessible via the Care England ‘Resources and Guidance’ page of our website.

Most recently, we have launched our Strategic Management Audit Repository Tool, SMART, which features an ESG repository with over 150 areas where care providers can review their services and requirements, store data and report performance.

For more information on SMART, please visit the Care England website or see page 37.

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CHAMPIONING CHANGE CARE ENGLAND 2024 EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE CHURCH HOUSE, WESTMINSTER, LONDON, SW1P 3NZ What’s our focus?

The conference will focus on the action that Care England and the sector is taking to further improve the quality of care.

Who should attend?

The conference will be of interest to all residential and domiciliary care providers, especially owners, directors and senior managers who support older people and those with dementia, learning disabilities and long-term conditions.

BOOK EARLY AND SAVE MONEY!

SCAN HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE!

For bookings before 31 December 2023 Care England Member: £125 Non-member care homes/Charities: £150 Non-Member: £300 For bookings from 1 January 2024 Care England Member: £150 Non-member care homes/Charities: £175 Non-Member: £350

Exhibition of products and services Over 40 leading companies and organisations will be present to showcase their products and services to the estimated 350 high-level delegates For further information, please contact Jozsef on 020 7492 4840 or send an email to Conference@careengland.org.uk

You can view the programme, and the confirmed speakers, on our website! www.careengland.org.uk MAIN SPONSOR

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→ Member: What is Care England doing regarding MPLC and care homes?

GA: We are aware that a number of care homes are being told they require an Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) or Public Video Screening Licence (PVSL) licence for TVs and films in their care homes.

Whilst licensing bodies have made clear that they expect care homes to purchase suitable licences (following a change to the law in June 2016), there is a gap in the law and guidance when it comes to care homes.

Our legal advisers on this matter have said that a provider needs to clarify that it does not organise TV or film viewings in a communal room, as opposed to saying it does not charge for them. You need to explain that you do not arrange TV or film viewings as an activity. For example, any viewing is organised by the resident(s).

Care England has worked with our legal advisers on this matter to produce an advice note for Care England members, which can be requested by contacting info@careengland.org.uk.

Member: We have heard conflicting statements on commissioning preferences for our local authority. Is there a way we can find out our authority’s planned commissioning approach and what this means for our service?

CL: Yes! Care England’s Market Intelligence System, MINT, is the only database that contains every local authority’s Market Position Statement. These reports outline the local authorities' planned commissioning approaches for the next three to five years and will offer insight into their commissioning preferences for different service types. This also includes data on their current capacity, their predicted future capacity and how they will meet this need by supporting the care sector. See page 37 for more information about MINT.

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Member: After Birmingham Council issued a Section 114 Notice, and with other local authorities being in similar financial positions, should I be worried about my services in these areas?

GA: Although a Section 114 Notice means that the local authority can make no new payments, they must still meet their statutory duties, including the provision of adult social care, and meet any pre-existing contracts they would have made, including those with providers. Also, any central Government funding committed to our sector must go to providers in full, regardless of the local authority's financial position. There shouldn’t be any significant interruption to your services, as the only immediate action after issuing a Section 114 notice is for the local authority to review its budget. However, Section 114 notices will be influential to the local authority's future financial decisions.

Services such as Care England’s Market Intelligence System, MINT, which contains all the funding information you need, will support you in your fee negotiations to get the most out of your authority.

George Appleton is Policy Manager at Care England, and Charlotte Lezard is Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Care England.

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