What's New Bulletin 104 - 28 July 2022
This is the one hundred and fourth weekly provider bulletin, containing information on guidance, procedures and new initiatives. Very urgent or high priority communications may still be issued on an ad hoc basis, but we will try to keep these to a minimum
- Commonwealth Games start this week - Letter For Carers To Park Vehicles – details of disruption to bus services (information for all providers delivering services in Birmingham)
- Cost of care exercise 2022 (information for all Birmingham care homes, home support, supported living and extra care providers)
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) update: Formal Notice of data required from 31 July, link to DHSC guidance, and summary of changes to the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
- Capacity Tracker refresher sessions – including mandatory data completion (information for all providers)
- REMINDER Changes to Commissioning response to PPE, workforce, and other Coronavirus issues information updated on the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
- REMINDER HMRC Paying the minimum wage in social care: webinars for employers during August 2022 (information for all providers)
- REMINDER NHS mail Weekly Drop-in Sessions, Hosted by The NHS mail team at NHS Digital (information for all providers)
1. Commonwealth Games start this week - Letter For Carers To Park Vehicles – details of disruption to bus services (information for all providers delivering services in Birmingham)
During the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham this summer (28 July to 8 August 2022), there will be a number of road events which will result in road closures and overall increases in demand for public transport for the duration of the games. Please ensure your business continuity plans have been reviewed and updated if needed to reflect any disruption to travel. Slides (BCCAdultSocialCare_040422) which shows the events that will impact on the routes along with other information, and slides that include hotspot grids showing the busiest areas in the city by time of day and types of transport (Hot Spot Grids), have been circulated to providers. If you don't have copies, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
Details of all of the bus disruptions during the Commonwealth Games are now available via the weblink below, which may also be useful to share with staff as they start to plan their public transport journeys:
Travelling by bus or tram during the Games
If you have any staff who may be interested in cycling during the Games, please make them aware of the fantastic offer from West Midlands Cycle Hire where people can access two free 30-minute cycle hire rides each day during the Games:
Free cycle hire during the Games
Below is a link to the Commonwealth games website, which gives further details about road closures and parking restrictions for all the venues and events.
How could my area be affected? (birmingham2022.com)
Providers have been sent a letter for Carers who deliver home care, which they should display on their Cars when they are parked in any Common Wealth Games Parking Control Areas while they are delivering care to Birmingham Citizens, so they will not receive a Parking Penalty Notice. Please ensure all Carers and Drivers display their ID Badges so they can access Roads which will be closed during the Games thus ensuring the Traffic Marshalls allow them entry into those streets. If you don't have a copy of the letter, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
This Letter doesn’t allow Vehicles to Park on No Stopping Routes, it is only for Control Parking Zones where Carers either cannot park on Citizen Driveways or Citizen has not given them a Visitor Parking Permit for the street.
2. Cost of care exercise 2022 (information for all Birmingham care homes, home support, supported living and extra care providers)
We want to take this opportunity to thank all care providers which have responded to our requests to submit cost of care data during the recent exercise – the submissions we have received will be used to inform the Council’s reporting to the DHSC in respect of the Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund requirements and also to inform our annual fee uplifts and future contractual fee structures. The response rate has been significantly lower than in previous years. We are keen to maximise the volume, quality and richness of the data we can analyse and have sent further individual communication this week to care providers requesting their returns by 3 August 2022. If your registered location has not yet done so we request that a return is submitted.
We want to take this opportunity to remind care home, home support and supported living contract holders that the exercise is a mandatory requirement of the contract.
Full details and instructions about the exercise are published on our website page below:
Cost of care exercise 2022 | Cost of care exercises | Birmingham City Council
3. Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) update: Formal Notice of data required from 31 July 2022, link to DHSC guidance, and summary of changes to the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
DHSC has published the Formal Notice setting out what information is required by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from CQC-regulated adult social care providers, under section 277A of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, as inserted by section 99 of the Health and Care Act 2022.
The Notice can be found below. Per the Formal Notice, the first set of monthly data is due by the end of 14 August 2022.
Formal notice of a mandate for all ASC providers
The DHSC has also published guidance to support providers with this new requirement. DHSC Guidance can be found below:
Guidance for providers on data collection
The layout of the Capacity Tracker is changing in August so that the questions for the Adult Social Care submission, mandated by DHSC, will be clearly identifiable. During the reporting period, this section will also be highlighted. Pop-up messages will let you know that you’ve successfully updated and the date/time stamp in the Update Assurance section. To help providers, email reminders will be sent during the reporting window (8 August to 14 August 2022) – please ensure your email notifications are turned on if you wish to receive these. These will go out every 24 hours until your information is updated.
4. Capacity Tracker refresher sessions – including mandatory data completion (information for all providers)
30 minute Demonstration Q&A Sessions are available for those new to the Capacity Tracker, or in need of a refresh. The sessions will include how the Capacity Tracker updated screens will look following the introduction of mandatory completion.
To find dates and links to attend the Demonstration Q&A sessions, please log into the Capacity Tracker (link below), go to the Help menu, select 'Resource Centre', then 'Events, and then 'Provider Training Sessions'
If you have questions or queries regarding how to update the data and where to report specific scenarios, please contact capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.uk
If you are experiencing technical issues with Capacity Tracker, please contact necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net or the Capacity Tracker Support Centre on 0191-691-3729.
5. REMINDER Changes to Commissioning response to PPE, workforce, and other Coronavirus issues information updated on the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
As we move further towards business as usual, Birmingham City Council Area Commissioners will no longer contact Birmingham providers about low reports or PPE, workforce issues or “other Coronavirus issues”. Please continue to update this information at the frequency requested by the Department of Health and Social Care as it will continue to be reviewed nationally and locally for strategic purposes.
However, if you have any immediate operational concerns about workforce issues or other Coronavirus related issues, please contact your Area Commissioner as soon as possible – this advice applies to both contracted and non-contracted Birmingham providers. Details of who your Area Commissioners are and how to contact them can be found below;
Who to contact in the commissioning team | Birmingham City Council
Please continue to order your regular Covid-19 related PPE stock from the national portal (below). If you do become in urgent need of PPE, this can still be requested from the Council on the following number for the time being; 0121 796 2577.
6. REMINDER HMRC Paying the minimum wage in social care: webinars for employers during August 2022 (information for all providers)
HMRC are offering two webinars to help social care employers ensure they are meeting minimum wage requirements for their teams. Almost all workers are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. Mistakes are easy to make and you may not always be aware something has gone wrong. Common errors employers in the care sector make include not paying correctly for travel time, other unpaid working time and wage deductions.
HMRC is offering two live webinars explaining the correct payment of the minimum wage in the care sector;
- 2 August 10am to 11:30am
- 10 August 10am to 11:30am
Register now to book your place, using the link below:
Paying the National Minimum Wage correctly in the care sector - webinars
7. REMINDER NHS mail Weekly Drop-in Sessions, Hosted by The NHS mail team at NHS Digital (information for all providers)
The NHS mail team now offer care providers a weekly drop-in session to support with NHS mail queries. There will be no agenda or slides, this is an open session to give care providers the opportunity to ask questions about NHSmail, directly to the NHSmail team, just pop in, ask your question and leave once you have your answer. No registration is required to attend but please note this session is for care providers only and not those in supportive roles for NHS mail.
Please click on the link below to join the session on the day.
Every Wednesday between 11am and 12pm. Click the link below to join the meeting