Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the £149 million in funding for the delivery of covid-19 testing in care homes will reach providers of frontline services to older people.

Local authorities should pass 80% of this funding to care homes within the local authority’s geographical area on a ‘per beds’ basis. The remaining 20% of the funding must be used to support the care sector to implement increased lateral flow testing but can be allocated at the local authority’s discretion. The guidance states that the Department expects the care homes allocation to be passed to providers within 10 working days upon the receipt of the funding in a local authority, subject to providers meeting the conditions of the grant. This funding was released to local authorities on 15 January 2021.

Providers and local authorities will have to submit monthly returns, as part of their Infection Control Fund reports, detailing how the Rapid Testing Fund has been spent.