Social Care: East Sussex County Council to spend £5m on staffing

East Sussex County Council says there is "increased pressure" on the care system

A council will give £4.98m to social care providers to deal with "unprecedented" staffing challenges.

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) got the cash from the government's Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund (WRRF).

It comes after the neighbouring Surrey Care Association warned that social care users were at risk because of staff shortages.

ESCC said it "fully expects providers to pass [money] to their workforces".

Councillor Carl Maynard, who is responsible for adult social care and health at ESCC, said: "Our independent care providers will be able to reward front line care staff for their hard work during the pandemic and provide an incentive to encourage them to remain in post through the challenging winter period and beyond."

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ESCC said it was initially allocated £1.75m from the WRRF, but an additional £3.23m was announced by central government in December.

It added that the funding would be "shared among providers" and would also help with "ongoing care and support after a hospital stay" to free up hospital beds.

Last month, the chairman of the Independent Care Group (ICG) called for the government to set up an emergency "volunteer army" for social care over fears homes could run out of staff.

The Department for Health and Social Care said the purpose of the WRRF is "to support local authorities to address adult social care workforce capacity pressures" this winter.

The grant is the second instalment from a pot of £162.5m distributed to councils, the first instalment was allocated in November.

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