As of 1 April 2022, the Infection Control Fund (“ICF”) ended in England. However, Scotland has decided to extend its own version, the Social Care Staff Support Fund (“SCSSF”), until 30 June 2022.
The ICF was a government support programme designed to financially assist providers and social care workers who had to be off work due to COVID-19 isolation. The ICF could be used for any purpose linked to helping to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in adult social care settings and support the wider workforce. Scotland’s SCSSF essentially mirrors the ICF, however it is specifically designed to support social care workers alone, rather than providers. The SCSSF was introduced in December 2020, and was intended to provide financial support to social care workers who were shielding due to COVID-19 and were not placed on the Job Retention Scheme. This helped employers pay their workers’ wages when they were unable to work due to COVID-19. The fund allowed employers to claim additional wages for their staff which amounted to the difference between what 80% of their wages would have been and the actual wage they received.
According to Scotland’s Social Care Minister, Kevin Stewart, the fund has been extended because the Scottish government does not want to see social care workers face financial hardship as a result of enforced isolation. This appears to be in stark contrast to England’s approach, where “living with COVID-19” means that many may suffer negative financial consequences as a result of removing the support that the ICF offered for both providers and social care workers alike.
