Better Care Fund

The Care Act 2014 introduced the Better Care Fund (BCF), which was described by the then Government as “one of the most ambitious programmes ever introduced across the NHS and local government”. The BCF is designed to promote integration between health and social care and to create a local, single-pooled budget to incentivise the NHS and local government to work more closely together.

In North East Lincolnshire, health and social care has been integrated since 2007, when North East Lincolnshire Council transferred some of its adult social care responsibilities to what is now the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (HNYICB) via a special agreement under s75 of the NHS Act 2006. The Council and ICB have maintained a single-pooled budget ever since.

This means the HNYICB is responsible for commissioning both health and social care on behalf of the population of North East Lincolnshire in conjunction with the Council.

Each area must submit a shared BCF plan each year, setting out how they will spend the funds held within their single pooled budget, and how that will support the health and well-being of their local population. Compliance with the BCF is a legal requirement, and North East Lincolnshire has to submit plans setting out its progress towards integration like all other areas across the country. The Council and the HNYICB work together to create BCF plans, as part of their ongoing partnership.

Market Position Statement for North East Lincolnshire (2022-2025)

Local areas need to consider how they are meeting their requirements under the Care Act 2014 to ‘promote diversity and quality in the provision of services’. Good practice in market facilitation suggests that commissioners develop a common and shared perspective of supply and demand for care services. We also need to ensure sufficiency of provision, that the local care market is sustainable and fostering continuous improvement. These outcomes cannot be delivered without the active cooperation of providers and without clarity over their strategic approach. These functions are likely to be helped by the development of a market position statement (MPS).

The MPS aims to:

Present a picture of demand and supply now, what that might look like in the future and how strategic commissioners will support and intervene in a local or regional market to deliver support for adults.
Be a brief, analytical document that is clear about the distinction between description and analysis. It will allow providers to come to their own judgements about where, and in what amount to invest in a market. Providers not only need to understand the direction the local area is taking, but also why it is going in that direction and based on what evidence.
Support its analysis by bringing together material from a range of sources such as JSNAs, surveys, contract monitoring, market reviews and statistics into a single document which presents the data that the market needs to know and use, if providers are to develop effective business plans.
Cover all potential and actual users of services in the local area, not just those that receive funding from commissioners.
Offer a start to, not the end point of a process of market facilitation.

Consequently, the MPS is the basis for strategic commissioning and is a document which we will review and update regularly. With the newly announced government reforms of social care, we will be developing our approach to ensure sustainability in the NEL care market.

We increasingly recognise that the local health and care workforce needs to be grown from within the local community as there are shortages of skilled workers in every area of health and care support. Workforce shortages have become more acute during the pandemic response and continue to undermine our efforts as a system to deliver quality care and support. We aim to work closely with our care providers and partners in the borough to identify ways of increasing the supply of workers in the care sector, as well as looking to initiatives to sustain and enhance careers in care.

Moving forward, as we transform local care and support services there are requirements for a different mix of skills, and we have described how we see the workforce of the future. We are keen to have a dialogue with our providers to ensure that we work collaboratively in developing the workforce that is needed for the new environment.

Download the MPS (PDF, 879KB)

Alternatively, download the MPS (accessible version) (PDF, 411KB)