Guidance

Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund Grant Determination 2024 to 2025

Published 15 April 2024

Applies to England

Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund Grant Determination (2024-25): No 31/7244

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government (“the Minister”), in exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, makes the following determination:

Citation

1. This determination may be cited as the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund Grant Determination (2024-25): No 31/7244 .

Purpose of the grant

2. The purpose of the grant is to provide support to local authorities in England towards expenditure lawfully incurred or to be incurred by them. It is intended to enable local authorities to maintain any improvements made in 2023 to 2024, with the expectation they will seek further improvements to adult social care from 2024 to 25, in particular to increase adult social care capacity through reducing adult social care waiting times, increasing fee rates, and increasing workforce capacity and retention.

Determination

3. The Minister determines as the authorities to which grant is to be paid and the amount of grant to be paid, the authorities and amounts which are set out in Annex A.

4. The grant will be paid in monthly instalments.

Grant conditions

5. Pursuant to section 31(4) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Minister determines that the grant will be paid subject to the conditions specified in Annex B.

Treasury consent

6. Before making this determination in relation to local authorities in England, the Minister obtained the consent of the Treasury.

Signed by authority of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government.

Angelica Larkin, Deputy Director
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
April 2024

Annex A: Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund allocations to local authorities 2024-25

Local Authority	Adult Social Care Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund total allocations to local authorities 2024 to 25	Of which, allocation from the £162 million continued Fair Cost of Care element	Of which, allocation from the remaining £888 million element
Barking and Dagenham	£3,994,643	£616,316	£3,378,327
Barnet	£6,332,764	£977,055	£5,355,709
Barnsley	£5,418,004	£835,921	£4,582,083
Bath and North East Somerset	£3,192,668	£492,583	£2,700,085
Bedford	£2,716,053	£419,048	£2,297,005
Bexley	£4,061,639	£626,653	£3,434,986
Birmingham	£24,501,292	£3,780,199	£20,721,093
Blackburn with Darwen	£3,344,322	£515,981	£2,828,341
Blackpool	£3,953,620	£609,987	£3,343,633
Bolton	£6,081,698	£938,319	£5,143,379
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	£7,655,786	£1,181,178	£6,474,608
Bracknell Forest	£1,583,032	£244,239	£1,338,793
Bradford	£10,050,291	£1,550,616	£8,499,675
Brent	£5,875,786	£906,550	£4,969,236
Brighton and Hove	£5,375,388	£829,346	£4,546,042
Bristol	£8,874,101	£1,369,147	£7,504,954
Bromley	£5,208,242	£803,557	£4,404,684
Buckinghamshire Council	£7,312,018	£1,128,140	£6,183,878
Bury	£3,573,110	£551,280	£3,021,830
Calderdale	£4,027,699	£621,416	£3,406,282
Cambridgeshire	£10,167,747	£1,568,738	£8,599,009
Camden	£5,625,209	£867,889	£4,757,320
Central Bedfordshire	£3,788,628	£584,531	£3,204,097
Cheshire East	£6,346,539	£979,180	£5,367,359
Cheshire West and Chester	£6,419,083	£990,373	£5,428,710
City of London	£213,459	£32,934	£180,525
Cornwall	£12,221,055	£1,885,534	£10,335,521
Coventry	£6,785,896	£1,046,967	£5,738,929
Croydon	£6,130,859	£945,904	£5,184,955
Cumberland	£6,078,276	£1,034,121	£5,044,155
Darlington	£2,192,627	£338,291	£1,854,336
Derby	£5,024,989	£775,284	£4,249,705
Derbyshire	£15,869,463	£2,448,432	£13,421,032
Devon	£15,642,954	£2,413,484	£13,229,470
Doncaster	£6,605,724	£1,019,169	£5,586,555
Dorset Council	£7,467,053	£1,152,060	£6,314,993
Dudley	£6,832,090	£1,054,094	£5,777,996
Durham	£12,347,893	£1,905,104	£10,442,790
Ealing	£6,201,862	£956,859	£5,245,003
East Riding of Yorkshire	£6,326,111	£976,029	£5,350,083
East Sussex	£11,312,222	£1,745,314	£9,566,908
Enfield	£5,681,530	£876,579	£4,804,951
Essex	£25,897,787	£3,995,659	£21,902,128
Gateshead	£4,958,120	£764,967	£4,193,153
Gloucestershire	£11,068,681	£1,707,739	£9,360,942
Greenwich	£5,819,960	£897,937	£4,922,024
Hackney	£6,146,889	£948,377	£5,198,511
Halton	£2,796,203	£431,414	£2,364,789
Hammersmith and Fulham	£4,017,917	£619,907	£3,398,010
Hampshire	£20,800,924	£3,209,285	£17,591,638
Haringey	£5,023,385	£775,037	£4,248,348
Harrow	£4,242,999	£654,634	£3,588,365
Hartlepool	£2,192,415	£338,258	£1,854,157
Havering	£4,399,863	£678,836	£3,721,027
Herefordshire	£3,852,684	£594,414	£3,258,270
Hertfordshire	£18,088,066	£2,790,730	£15,297,336
Hillingdon	£4,554,845	£702,748	£3,852,098
Hounslow	£4,372,120	£674,556	£3,697,565
Isle of Wight	£3,353,067	£517,330	£2,835,736
Isles of Scilly	£55,392	£8,546	£46,845
Islington	£5,625,764	£867,975	£4,757,789
Kensington and Chelsea	£3,792,275	£585,094	£3,207,181
Kent	£26,969,400	£4,160,993	£22,808,406
Kingston upon Hull	£6,356,626	£980,737	£5,375,889
Kingston upon Thames	£2,507,658	£386,896	£2,120,762
Kirklees	£8,136,981	£1,255,420	£6,881,561
Knowsley	£4,274,619	£659,513	£3,615,106
Lambeth	£6,601,509	£1,018,518	£5,582,990
Lancashire	£24,141,914	£3,724,752	£20,417,162
Leeds	£14,484,441	£2,234,742	£12,249,699
Leicester	£6,885,105	£1,062,273	£5,822,832
Leicestershire	£10,562,332	£1,629,617	£8,932,715
Lewisham	£5,984,484	£923,320	£5,061,163
Lincolnshire	£14,734,780	£2,273,366	£12,461,414
Liverpool	£12,937,346	£1,996,048	£10,941,298
Luton	£3,448,046	£531,984	£2,916,061
Manchester	£11,663,968	£1,799,584	£9,864,384
Medway	£4,365,687	£673,563	£3,692,124
Merton	£3,272,106	£504,839	£2,767,266
Middlesbrough	£3,315,976	£511,608	£2,804,368
Milton Keynes	£3,972,841	£612,953	£3,359,889
Newcastle upon Tyne	£6,566,135	£1,013,061	£5,553,074
Newham	£6,424,307	£991,179	£5,433,128
Norfolk	£18,281,716	£2,820,608	£15,461,109
North East Lincolnshire	£3,411,231	£526,304	£2,884,927
North Lincolnshire	£3,329,021	£513,620	£2,815,401
North Northamptonshire	£5,521,656	£851,913	£4,669,743
North Somerset	£4,042,261	£623,663	£3,418,598
North Tyneside	£4,510,961	£695,977	£3,814,984
North Yorkshire	£10,603,254	£1,635,931	£8,967,323
Northumberland	£6,656,353	£1,026,980	£5,629,373
Nottingham	£6,781,371	£1,046,269	£5,735,103
Nottinghamshire	£15,430,932	£2,380,772	£13,050,160
Oldham	£4,910,300	£757,589	£4,152,711
Oxfordshire	£10,025,551	£1,546,799	£8,478,752
Peterborough	£3,472,268	£535,721	£2,936,546
Plymouth	£5,617,957	£866,771	£4,751,187
Portsmouth	£3,895,575	£601,032	£3,294,544
Reading	£2,491,572	£384,414	£2,107,158
Redbridge	£4,882,396	£753,284	£4,129,112
Redcar and Cleveland	£3,150,984	£486,152	£2,664,833
Richmond upon Thames	£2,891,184	£446,068	£2,445,115
Rochdale	£4,849,068	£748,142	£4,100,926
Rotherham	£5,885,631	£908,069	£4,977,562
Rutland	£593,776	£91,611	£502,165
Salford	£5,764,798	£889,426	£4,875,372
Sandwell	£8,084,685	£1,247,351	£6,837,333
Sefton	£6,671,373	£1,029,298	£5,642,075
Sheffield	£11,835,528	£1,826,053	£10,009,475
Shropshire	£6,097,977	£940,831	£5,157,147
Slough	£2,255,107	£347,931	£1,907,176
Solihull	£3,807,808	£587,490	£3,220,318
Somerset	£10,926,856	£1,685,858	£9,240,998
South Gloucestershire	£4,090,824	£631,156	£3,459,669
South Tyneside	£4,004,265	£617,801	£3,386,464
Southampton	£4,853,564	£748,836	£4,104,728
Southend-on-Sea	£3,605,002	£556,200	£3,048,801
Southwark	£6,871,583	£1,060,187	£5,811,396
St. Helens	£4,212,493	£649,928	£3,562,566
Staffordshire	£15,496,094	£2,390,826	£13,105,268
Stockport	£5,614,067	£866,170	£4,747,897
Stockton-on-Tees	£3,697,919	£570,536	£3,127,383
Stoke-on-Trent	£5,827,044	£899,030	£4,928,014
Suffolk	£14,268,622	£2,201,444	£12,067,177
Sunderland	£6,859,027	£1,058,250	£5,800,777
Surrey	£17,476,538	£2,696,380	£14,780,158
Sutton	£3,225,610	£497,666	£2,727,945
Swindon	£3,365,493	£519,247	£2,846,245
Tameside	£5,048,908	£778,974	£4,269,934
Telford and Wrekin	£3,387,521	£522,646	£2,864,875
Thurrock	£2,862,144	£441,588	£2,420,556
Torbay	£3,625,036	£559,291	£3,065,745
Tower Hamlets	£6,409,220	£988,851	£5,420,369
Trafford	£4,137,458	£638,351	£3,499,107
Wakefield	£7,213,830	£1,112,991	£6,100,839
Walsall	£6,264,233	£966,482	£5,297,752
Waltham Forest	£4,763,028	£734,867	£4,028,160
Wandsworth	£5,676,370	£875,783	£4,800,587
Warrington	£3,603,851	£556,023	£3,047,828
Warwickshire	£9,776,305	£1,508,344	£8,267,961
West Berkshire	£2,191,427	£338,106	£1,853,321
Westmorland and Furness	£4,890,820	£658,253	£4,232,567
West Northamptonshire	£6,365,690	£982,135	£5,383,555
West Sussex	£14,452,602	£2,229,830	£12,222,772
Westminster	£5,788,821	£893,132	£4,895,689
Wigan	£6,965,975	£1,074,750	£5,891,224
Wiltshire	£7,975,904	£1,230,568	£6,745,336
Windsor and Maidenhead	£2,084,500	£321,609	£1,762,891
Wirral	£7,876,618	£1,215,250	£6,661,369
Wokingham	£1,756,952	£271,073	£1,485,880
Wolverhampton	£6,022,088	£929,122	£5,092,966
Worcestershire	£10,432,735	£1,609,622	£8,823,113
York	£3,201,628	£493,965	£2,707,662
Total	£1,050,000,000

*Funding paid to local authorities with responsibility for adult social care only

Allocations may not sum to exact totals due to rounding.

Annex B: Grant conditions

In this annex:

• “the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Care;
• “fee rate” means the rate determined and paid by a local authority to providers for care and support services;
• “grant” means the amounts set out in Annex A for each recipient authority;
• “recipient authority” means the relevant local authority as listed on Annex A to this determination;
• “Minister” means the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government.

This grant determination is supported by the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund 2024 to 2025 guidance that sets out further detail on the grant and recipient authorities’ responsibilities in administering it.

Use of the grant

1. The first condition is that the recipient authority must allocate its full grant allocation to adult social care, as part of a substantial increase in planned adult social care spending.

a. Local authorities must spend their allocation of the £162 million element of the fund, continued from the previous 2022 to 2023 Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund, on maintaining these previously increased fee rates paid to adult social care providers. This should be achieved through sustained fee rate increases as opposed to non-recurrent fee uplifts.

b. The additional £888 million element of the grant must be used on adult social care, in accordance with condition 2 below.

2. The second condition is that the £888 million element of the fund must be used to maintain improvements made from 2023-24. In addition to this condition, the government’s expectation is that local authorities should use this funding to seek further improvements in at least one of the target areas in 2024-25.

3. The target areas are the priority areas, as specified by the Department, to improve through use of the grant. The Department will monitor these areas through specified performance metrics in order to assess the maintenance of improvements made in 2023-24, and to assess whether further improvements have been made. The target areas are:

• Increasing fee rates paid to adult social care providers in local areas;
• Increasing adult social care workforce capacity and retention;
• Reducing adult social care waiting times.

a. Further information on each of the target areas is provided in the supporting Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund 2024-25 guidance.

b. The target areas chosen by the recipient authority should support the most pressing needs in their local area. The recipient authority must confirm in their initial report which of the target areas it will be seeking further improvements in, alongside planned spend on each.

c. Recipient authorities should provide assurance that other target areas not selected in either of the two years of the fund have not worsened and as such, recipient authorities must report on all the performance metrics as set out in the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund guidance provided by the Department.

d. The Department will provide guidance, templates, and ongoing support to help authorities meet the grant conditions and achieve the purpose of the funding as set out in paragraph 2 of the grant determination.

4. The third condition is that recipient authorities must provide:

a. An initial report by 23:59 on 22 May 2024 which must include:

i. Confirmation that the recipient authority’s share of the grant has been allocated in full to adult social care;

ii. Confirmation that the recipient authority has used its share of the £162 million element of the fund to maintain fee uplifts originally made as part of the 2022-23 Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund;

iii. Confirmation of which of the 3 target areas the authority will seek further improvements on, alongside planned spend on each;

iv. Reporting of all the required performance metrics specified in the guidance.

b. A final report by 23:59 on 21 May 2025 which must include:

i. Confirmation that the grant has been spent in full on adult social care;

ii. Confirmation that the recipient authority’s share of the continued £162 million component of the fund has been used to maintain fee uplifts;

iii. A completed ‘spend return’ section of the final report template;

iv. A record of all the performance metrics specified in the guidance.

c. Recipient authorities should make use of any templates provided by the Department.

5. The fourth condition is that recipient authorities must provide an MSIF Capacity Plan by 23:59 on 10 June 2024, which involves providing data and intelligence about local capacity in long-term services. The exact data that the authority must input into the plan is set out in the supporting guidance.

6. Final templates for the initial report, final report and MSIF Capacity Plan will be provided by the Department in due course. Final reports must be approved by the recipient authority’s chief executive or s151 officer. To assist the recipient authority with the additional cost of completing the returns, it may use up to £5,000 of their overall grant allocation, which cannot be exceeded.

7. The contact details for submitting the returns at conditions 3 and 4 are: MSIFCorrespondence@dhsc.gov.uk. The Department reserves the right to provide for a later date for submission, update the means by which returns are submitted, and may provide alternative methods for submission in future.

8. Where a recipient authority fails to evidence that improvements have been maintained from 2023-24, or that further improvements have not been targeted, Officials from the Department may engage with the recipient authority to gain further information and understanding, and what additional support may be required to meet the grant conditions. This may include asking the recipient authority to provide more performance data or repeat exercises.

9. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care may at any time require a further external validation to be carried out by an appropriately qualified independent accountant or auditor, on the use of the grant.

Payment arrangements

10. The grant funding set out in Annex A will be paid in monthly instalments. The Minister reserves the right to alter the timing or amount of grants payments.

11. Funding from the grant must be spent within the designated financial year. If any funding from the grant is not spent within the designated financial year, the Minister may require repayment of the grant monies paid, as may be determined by the Minister and notified in writing to the recipient authority.

Financial management

12. A recipient authority must maintain a sound system of internal financial controls.

13. If a recipient authority has any grounds for suspecting financial irregularity in the use of any grant paid under this funding agreement, it must notify the Department immediately, explain what steps are being taken to investigate the suspicion and keep the Department informed about the progress of the investigation. For these purposes “financial irregularity” includes fraud or other impropriety, mismanagement, and the use of grant for purposes other than those for which it was provided.

Breach of conditions and withholding future funding

14. If the recipient authority fails to comply with any of these conditions, or if any overpayment is made under this grant, or any amount is paid in error, or any unspent funding is not returned, the Secretary of State may reduce, suspend or withhold grant payments or require the repayment of the whole or any part of the grant monies paid, as may be determined by the Secretary of State and notified in writing to the recipient authority. Such sum as has been notified will immediately become repayable to the Secretary of State who may offset the sum against any future amount due to the recipient authority from central government.

15. The list below contains examples of a breach of the grant conditions:

a) Inappropriate use of funding, or no evidence of funding having been spent on the specified purpose.

b) Failure to submit one or more of the documents as specified in paragraphs 3-4, and/or submission of incomplete documents, and/or documents that are not submitted by the deadline.

c) No maintenance of any improvements from 2023-24. In this case, as set out in Condition 2 above, the Department will take steps to provide authorities with the opportunity to explain how they have used the funding and any additional context before considering further measures.