Key changes to 2025/26 income
compared to previous year
• There is a significant 13.8% increase in the
Disabled Facilities Grant compared to 2024/25, equating to an
additional £220k.
• The protected social care element of the Minimum
NHS Contribution has increased by 3.9%, amounting to an uplift of
£292k.
• There has been no uplift to the Discharge
Funding for 2025/26.
• The ICB element of the Minimum NHS Contribution
has increased by £30k, representing a 0.4% rise.
• The ICB Discharge Funding is now incorporated
within the Minimum NHS Contribution.
• The iBCF and Local Authority Discharge Funding
have been consolidated into the Local Authority Better Care
Grant.
Approach to scheme
uplifts
• Limited uplift of 1.28% (£324k) to BCF
funding allocation to support scheme uplifts
• A
2.15% uplift has been applied to the majority schemes in line with
the standard NHS uplift that has been set nationally.
• Exceptions to this are:
o
Schemes delivered by either the ICB
or City of York Council, where any pay award increases will be met
internally through non-BCF funding.
o
A number of schemes that are
contributions to larger costs, where the contribution amount from
the BCF in 2025/26 will remain the same.
o
Uplifts to schemes delivered by NHS
organisations within the ICB, where a 0.24% convergence factor has
been applied in addition to the standard NHS uplift (net 1.91%) in
accordance with NHS Planning Guidance.
Spend
breakdown by BCF category
As part of the Better Care Fund
(BCF) planning process, all schemes and associated expenditure must
be categorised by both area of spend and primary objective. This
ensures alignment with national reporting requirements and supports
strategic investment decisions that promote integrated,
person-centred care across health, social care, and community
settings.
The table below outlines the 2025/26
BCF allocation by area of spend:
|
Area of Spend
|
Total Spend
|
Percentage Spend
|
|
Social Care
|
£ 14,620,606
|
56%
|
|
Community Health
|
£ 10,744,734
|
41%
|
|
Mental Health
|
£ 198,739
|
1%
|
|
Primary Care
|
£ 4,000
|
0%
|
|
Continuing Care
|
£
0
|
0%
|
|
Acute
|
£ 337,162
|
1%
|
|
Other
|
£ 0
|
0%
|
The largest portion of funding is
allocated to Social Care (£14.6 million), representing 56% of
total BCF expenditure, reflecting a continued commitment to
supporting people to live independently at home and sustaining
capacity within the social care sector. Community Health services
account for 41% of total funding, supporting a wide range of
preventative and community-based services. Smaller allocations are
made to Mental Health, Acute, and Primary Care, with no planned
expenditure under Continuing Care or Other categories this
year.
Each scheme is also aligned to a
primary objective to ensure that spending is targeted toward
delivering measurable outcomes:
|
Primary Objective
|
Total Spend
|
Percentage Spend
|
|
1. Proactive care to those with complex
needs
|
£ 2,738,938
|
11%
|
|
2. Home adaptations and tech
|
£ 2,345,521
|
9%
|
|
3. Supporting unpaid carers
|
£ 736,000
|
3%
|
|
4. Preventing unnecessary hospital
admissions
|
£ 8,518,865
|
33%
|
|
5. Timely discharge from hospital
|
£ 1,611,189
|
6%
|
|
6. Reducing the need for long term residential
care
|
£ 9,975,229
|
38%
|
This distribution of funding clearly
reflects the BCF’s focus on proactive, preventative care and
timely interventions. The largest share is committed to reducing
the need for long-term residential care (38%), followed closely by
preventing unnecessary hospital admissions (33%). These priorities
directly support the BCF’s overarching national objectives:
enabling people to stay well, safe and independent at home for
longer, and accessing timely and appropriate care when
needed.
Key changes to schemes and
expenditure from previous year
• Significant piece of work to more accurately
name and describe schemes
• Consolidation and aggregation of several schemes
where separation was previously in place to distinguish different
funding sources, for example aggregation of all schemes funding
home care packages and funded through the Adult Social Care
Discharge Fund - this has led to a reduction in duplication and
contributed to a reduction in the number of schemes from 57 to
46.
• Reablement scheme now encompasses the rapid
response element and reablement service, which now form part of the
same contract.
• Seven-day discharge scheme funding until end of
Q1 only to enable wider system discussion to take place.
• Additional contribution to staffing
resource supporting hospital discharge – a further £73k
funding to enable existing Hospital Social Worker Team
administrative capacity (working Monday-Friday) to continue
following the loss of the original funding stream for these posts.
Funding to enable the continuation of Hospital Trust element of the
7-day discharge scheme throughout Q1 also included within this
scheme.
• Planned reduction and cessation of Move Mates
scheme
• Resettlement bed at Union Terrace now
commissioned by CYC, provided by CYC Housing team (previously
delivered by Changing Lives).
• Increase in funding to the York Frailty Hub
(approximately £100k).
• Increase in funding to intermediate care
discharge to assess beds (approximately £52k).
Capacity and demand section
summary
To inform the 2025/26 Better Care
Fund planning, capacity data was gathered using 2024/25 activity
records from the City of York Council’s Mosaic system,
alongside direct input from providers delivering services across
both step-up and step-down pathways. This data was analysed in
conjunction with local intelligence to produce forecasted activity
levels for 2025/26.
Demand modelling across the ICB
began with hospital discharge data by pathway, which was then
refined using locally available insights. In some areas, current
capacity does not fully meet demand, evidenced by increased waiting
times from referral to service commencement. Specifically, demand
for home-based care is estimated to exceed available capacity by
5%, whereas demand for bed-based care is forecast to be 5% below
capacity. This reflects local understanding that, with improved
access to home-based rehabilitation, more individuals could safely
recover at home rather than in bedded settings.
Consultation
4.
The development of the 2025/26 plan
has been jointly led by City of York Council and York Place
Integrated Care Board (ICB) core commissioning teams, with
significant input from finance and business intelligence
colleagues.
The regional NHS England team has
led a series of meetings throughout the planning process to support
and align plans across the Humber and North Yorkshire ICB
footprint.
Other key contributors to the plan
have included the BCF Performance and Delivery group (which was
been refreshed for 2025 and will now meet regularly to review the
ongoing effectiveness of the schemes in supporting the BCF,
performance against national metrics, and ensure that we continue
to reduce inequalities across the city) the Disabled Facilities
Grant lead, and providers and scheme leads who have supplied vital
information to inform capacity and demand data and metric
targets.
The plan has also been reviewed and
approved by the York Integrated Community Model Joint Delivery
Board, and this approach has ensured compliance with the national
BCF requirement for cross-sector involvement, including NHS trusts,
social care providers and voluntary and community service
partners.
Additionally, the plan has been
reviewed and formally reviewed by the required senior stakeholders,
including the Health and Wellbeing Board Chair, the Local Authority
Chief Executive, the ICB Chief Executive, the LA Section 151
Officer, the ICB Finance Director, the Local Authority Director of
Adult Social Services, the DFG Lead, and the ICB Place Director.
This section should include details and results of any consultation
that has taken place on this subject matter [both internal (to your
organisation) and any external consultation that has taken place
should be referenced here]
Options
5.
N/A
Analysis
6.
N/A
Strategic/Operational
Plans
7.
The Better Care Fund Policy
Framework for 2025-2026 aligns closely with the York Health and
Wellbeing Board’s strategic and operational goals,
particularly in promoting prevention, supporting independence, and
improving hospital discharge processes. The BCF’s focus on
proactive, preventative support for individuals with complex health
needs aligns with York HWB’s commitment to early intervention
and promoting independent living. A fundamental part of the BCF is
to reduce the reliance on acute services through community-based
care, home adaptations, and technology.
The planned spend under the BCF
further demonstrates this alignment. A significant 38% of funds are
allocated to reducing the need for long-term residential care,
supporting York HWB’s shared goal of enabling individuals to
live independently and remain in their homes with appropriate
support. In addition, 33% of the BCF spend focuses on preventing
unnecessary hospital admissions, which directly complements the aim
to reduce the demand on hospital services through early
intervention and community-based care.
Further supporting the proactive
approach, 11% of the BCF spend is dedicated to proactive care for
individuals with complex health needs, aligning with York
HWB’s strategic objective to provide holistic, integrated
care for vulnerable individuals. Another 9% is allocated to home
adaptations and technology, highlighting a shared commitment to
using innovation to support independent living and improve quality
of life.
Additionally, 6% of the BCF spend is
directed towards supporting timely discharge from hospital,
directly aligning with York HWB’s priority to enhance
hospital flow and ensure individuals receive appropriate care upon
leaving the hospital. Finally, 3% of the BCF spend supports unpaid
carers, reinforcing York HWB’s focus on providing holistic
support for families and carers, who play a critical role in
maintaining individuals' independence and wellbeing. Many of the
2025/26 Adult Social Care priorities outlined in the Adult Social
Care strategy and the service plan contribute to both of the BCF
objectives.
These include:
• Creation of a multi-disciplinary planned review
team to address our backlog of annual reviews, helping people to
remain independent
• Utilising our LACS to ensure people waiting for
a strength-based conversation to assess their care and support
needs are waiting well in the hope that we can prevent or reduce
the need for more formal care
• Gathering feedback from people who use our
services including those with complex needs that require both
health and social care support and those that transition between
health and social care and using this information to improve
services
• Expanding our use of research across Adult
Social care practice and implementing increased support for
self-funders
• Improving our process for people using Direct
Payments to promote independence and alternatives to traditional
commissioned care to achieve identified outcomes
• Working across health and social care to improve
our use of resources across the system to ensure timely and
effective hospital discharge including a new Discharge to Assess
model in the acute hospital and developing mental health hubs
across the city and working closely with partners to improve our
CHC process to improve outcomes and experiences from some of the
most vulnerable people in the city
• Developing a new carers strategy and delivery
plan to improve our support to unpaid carers
• Improving our supported housing offer (both
internally and externally) to allow people to remain independent in
their own homes, reducing or delaying the need for residential or
nursing home care.
• In
summary, the BCF objectives closely align with York HWB’s
focus on prevention, integration, and supporting individuals to
live independently, reinforcing shared goals for better health and
care outcomes.
Implications
8.
The following implications have been
considered:
·
Financial
The BCF plan
outlines the proposed expenditure of a pooled total budget of
£25,925,742.
This includes the
Disabled Facilities Grant (£1,821,521), a specified minimum
contribution from NHS funding (£17,480,928) and the Local
Authority Better Care Grant (£6,623,742).
Finance colleagues
from both the City of York Council and the Humber and North
Yorkshire Integrated Care Board have been involved in the
development of this plan and the plan has also achieved sign off
from Chief Finance Officers from both organisations.
The BCF plan is
designed to optimise spending on services that prevent hospital
admissions, support early discharge, and provide care in the
community. While there are potential cost savings and efficiencies
to be realised, particularly through integrated care and reducing
long-term residential care, there are also financial risks,
especially where demand for services exceeds current capacity.
Ongoing monitoring and adjustment will be necessary to mitigate
these risks and ensure the plan remains financially
sustainable.
Key changes to
expenditure from the previous year have been outlined in section 3
of this report.
·
Human Resources
(HR)
There are no human
resources implications
·
Equalities
There are no
equalities implications
·
Legal
There are no legal
implications
·
Crime and Disorder
There are no crime
and disorder implications
·
Information Technology
(IT)
There are no
information technology implications
·
Property
There are no
property implications
·
Other
There are no other implications to
highlight to the HWB at this time
Risk Management
9.
There are no significant risks to
flag.
Recommendations
10.
The Health and Wellbeing Board are
asked to review and approve the 25/26 plan, given its collaborative
development and alignment to both BCF and HWB
priorities.
Contact Details
Author:
Zoe Delaney
Interim Head of All Age
Commissioning (City of York Council) and
Assistant Director of
Community Integration (York Place, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire
Integrated Care Board)
Tel No. 07762 982 632
Co-Author
Bobbi Dempsey
Integration Manager
Community Integration (York Place, NHS Humber
and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board)
Tel No. 07517132599
|
Chief Officer Responsible for
the report:
Sara Storey
Corporate Director of Adult
Social Care and Integration (City of York Council)
Tel No.
07720
155632
|
|
Report Approved
|
tick
|
Date
|
Insert Date
|
|
Chief Officer’s name
Title
|
|
Report Approved
|
tick
|
Date
|
Insert Date
|
|
|
|
Specialist Implications
Officer(s)
Steve Tait
Job Title Finance Manager
Dept Name Corporate Services, supporting Adult
Social Care and Public Health
Organisation name City of York
Council
Tel No. 01904 554065
|
|
Wards Affected: All wards
|
All
|
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
For further information please contact the
author of the report
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Annex
1 – BCF 2025/26 Planning Template
Annex
2 – BCF 2025/26 Narrative Plan
Annex
3 – BCF 2025/26 Capacity and Demand Plan
Appendix 1 - Better Care Fund 25/26 Planning
Update
Glossary
BCF – Better Care Fund
HWB -
Health and Wellbeing Board
ICB – Integrated Care Board
