Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of bureaucracy required for care providers to access the (a) Infection Control Fund, (b) Workforce Capacity Fund and (c) Rapid Testing Fund; and what plans he has to reduce the paperwork and reporting associated with each of those schemes.

Under the Rapid Testing Fund and extended Infection Control Fund, local authorities are required to pass 80% of funding directly to relevant care providers in their area. The Workforce Capacity Fund operates differently and is provided to local authorities for use in line with the grant conditions.

All three funds require providers and local authorities in receipt of funding to report on how they have used it. As part of the Infection Control Fund conditions, providers must also agree to provide weekly reporting through the Capacity Tracker. The Government will consider feedback from the sector in the design of any future funding to ensure reporting and conditions remain proportionate.