Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Confirm workforce projects reliant on payments system and update progress on system and initiatives.
Conclusion
Long-awaited workforce reforms are way behind schedule and too dependent on a ‘novel’ payment system. We welcome the Department’s launch of the care workforce pathway, which aims to provide consistent career progression for those working in the sector, but we are concerned at the lack of progress on other workforce reforms. At £265 million, they make up the largest budget in the scaled-back system reform portfolio (£729 million). It is alarming that many workforce projects are behind schedule because they depend on delivery of a bespoke payments system to pay suppliers directly. These include the Department’s project to increase the number of regulated professionals and the £136 million flagship project to improve workforce training, originally planned for September 2023. Although the Department assures us that its decision to build a bespoke system was well-evidenced, this ‘difficult’, ‘complex’ and ‘novel’ project is creating a worrying bottleneck and the Department acknowledges that the target date of summer 2024 is already at risk. Recommendation 5: The Department should in its Treasury Minute response to this report: • confirm which of the workforce reform projects depend on this payments system and update us on progress with each; and • update the Committee on progress with the payments system (including any updates to the RAG rating and implementation date) and when it expects the workforce initiatives that depend on it to start to have an impact.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and confirms the payment system is on track to start making payments from the end of June 2024 with a phased approach. It will enable claims for qualifications and training from June and commits to update the Committee on fund take-up by the end of the 2024-25 financial year.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. with this payment system and work to deliver reforms has progressed ahead of the payment system being available. The department is planning to provide updates on progress of the payments system and the workforce reform projects associated with it. The department recently published guidance setting out the scope and eligibility criteria for training and development for which employers will be able to apply for funding support. This has provided employers with information to support their workforce training plans ahead of the payment system going live. The payment system is on track to start making payments from the end of June 2024 with a phased approach to bringing specific funds online, ensuring that the largest proportion of allocated funding for the sector is made available first. From June 2024 employers will be invited to submit claims for the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification, and against a targeted list of training courses and other qualifications set out in the guidance. Support for Continuing Professional Development specifically for regulated professionals such as nurses and occupational therapists will follow. The department will update the Committee on Fund take-up before the end of the 2024-25 financial year.