2023 to 2025 Better Care Fund policy framework: Details for the assistive tech sector
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) have published a new policy paper that confirms the conditions and funding for the Better Care Fund for 2023 to 2025.
Launched in 2015, the Better Care Fund (BCF) joins up local health, social care, and housing services to deliver person-centred care for people to remain healthy and independent in their own communities for as long as possible. This vision is underpinned by two core objectives, to:
- Enable people to stay well, safe, and independent at home for longer.
- Provide people with the right care, at the right place, at the right time
In addition, BCF establishes pooled budgets between the NHS and local authorities, which combines contributions from the following areas: a minimum allocation from integrated care systems (ICSs), the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), social care funding (improved BCF), and winter pressures grant funding.
The BCF funds areas like home adaptations for disabled people, which incorporates crucial assistive technologies like homelifts, stairlifts, ramps, and grab rails.
For 2023 to 2025, the departments say they want local areas to continue to deliver more joined-up care across health and social care, with greater certainty to plan the use of BCF funding over a two-year cycle.
The delivery of the BCF will support two key priorities for the health and care system that align with the two existing BCF objectives:
- Improving overall quality of life for people, and reducing pressure on UEC, acute, and social care services through investing in preventative services.
- Tackling delayed discharge and bringing about sustained improvements in discharge outcomes and wider system flow.
DHSC and DLUHC have underlined that they will support local areas’ delivery of the above objectives through additional funding over the two years. This includes a 5.66 percent increase to the NHS minimum contribution into the BCF each year and an extra £1.6 billion to support hospital discharge.
In addition, the departments intend that the £102 million new funding to support adaptations announced in ‘Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care’ will be disbursed as an additional tranche of the DFG funding. The departments will also continue to offer bespoke support to help areas deliver these priorities through their BCF plans.
Below are the funding and conditions for the Better Care Fund for 2023 to 2025.
Funding
The table below outlines the minimum contributions to the BCF for 2023 to 2025. This includes the additional £1.6 billion funding for supporting hospital discharge.
| BCF funding contributions | 2023 to 2024 (£m) | 2024 to 2025 (£m) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum NHS contribution | 4,759 | 5,029 |
| Improved Better Care Fund | 2,140 | 2,140 (TBC) |
| Disabled Facilities Grant | 573 | 573 |
| Discharge funding | 600 | 1,000 |
| Grand total | 8,072 (+4.6%) | 8,741 (+8.3%) |
Conditions
The national conditions for the BCF in 2023 to 2025 are:
- A jointly agreed plan between local health and social care commissioners, signed off by the health and wellbeing board (HWB).
- Implementing BCF policy objective one: enabling people to stay well, safe, and independent at home for longer.
- Implementing BCF policy objective two: providing the right care, at the right place, at the right time.
- Maintaining the NHS’ contribution to adult social care (in line with the uplift to the NHS minimum contribution to the BCF), and investment in NHS commissioned out of hospital services
Read the full policy framework here.