Decision details

In October 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) with a total of £42.6 million in grant funding over 2023 to 2024 (£20 million)
and 2024 to 2025 (£22.6 million), to support innovation in adult social care. The aim of the fund is to support the growth of person-centred care services with a priority focused on:
• support to unpaid carers,
• to respond to rising demand and the changing needs of local populations,
• address barriers to adopting innovative practices and build capacity and capability in adult social care.
The ARF is to be utilised to kick-start development of projects that can be further supported through existing local authority funding.
A £300,000 ‘floor’ per Integrated Care Systems (ICS) consortium will cover some core project start-up costs and will be provided in full in the first year 2023-2024. The DHSC have advised that
the fund is ringfenced and can be carried forward into the next financial year i.e., beyond March 2025.
Other allocated funding will cover some programme costs and will be calculated based on the adult social care Relative Needs Formula (RNF) at a local authority level and summed to the ICS
at a consortium level.

This is funding provided by DHSC and the MOU for the provision of the Adult Social Care ARF
has been agreed for 2024/25. This is being done in a consortia approach across South
Yorkshire, with Rotherham MBC, City of Doncaster Council, Barnsley MBC and Sheffield City
Council. Rotherham MBC is the lead authority for this fund and has the MOU in place with the
DHSC (as detailed above).
This request is to utilise the funding received via the DHSC to establish a post within AWC to take a strategic lead on the transformation of the shared lives offer across Doncaster, whilst also leading and representing CDC as part of the South Yorkshire consortium.

None