FOI/202600516939 · FOI · unclear
West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership COVID funding clawback details: FOI release
Information requested
Coronavirus (COVID-19): mental health - transition and recovery plan.
and:-
Clawback of COVID funding from West Dunbartonshire HSCP in 2022.
I request information on what consideration was given to long-term mental health issues arising from Covid-19, as acknowledged in the above plan.
'This plan outlines our response to the mental health impacts of COVID-19. It addresses the challenges that the pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on the population’s mental health.'
West Dunbartonshire is a particularly deprived area with a high incidence of mental health issues which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. WDHSCP is now considering cuts to mental health services.
Request 1: I request information on what consideration was given to long-term mental health issues arising from Covid-19, as acknowledged in the above plan.
Request 2: Because of the clawback in 2022, £6M is no longer available to pay for these services. So, was this adverse local outcome anticipated when the clawback was implemented in 2022?
Request 3: Now that this crisis has arisen, has consideration been given to reimbursing all or part of the clawback to alleviate the situation?
Response
Request 1: I request information on what consideration was given to long-term mental health issues arising from Covid-19, as acknowledged in the above plan.
On the Mental Health Transition and Recovery plan, I would direct you to the record of the Mental Health Research Advisory Group papers. This group helped gather emerging evidence around the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and wellbeing and is where our understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 (in both the short and the long term) were formalised. The policy contained within the Transition and Recovery plan was based on the group’s findings.
A Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment was also published which took a retrospective look at the impacts of COVID-19. This looks at the longer-term impacts and how those would be considered by the Programme Board.
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you as outlined above. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
Request 2: Because of the clawback in 2022, £6M is no longer available to pay for these services. So, was this adverse local outcome anticipated when the clawback was implemented in 2022?
IJBs were given a ring-fenced funding allocation in 2021/22 to support a range of COVID-19 pressures.
There were a number of significant changes to Public Health policies in relation to COVID-19 after the initial allocation, resulting in the profile of COVID-19 spend reducing significantly compared to when funding was provided to IJBs.
In response to this, we communicated the action to reclaim surplus COVID-19 reserves.
This funding remained fully within the Health and Social Care portfolio and was redistributed across the sector to meet other COVID-19 priorities as they emerged.
The mechanism for funding Health and Social Care Partnerships is through the partner organisations – i.e. the NHS Board and Local Authority. This means any COVID-19 funding returned from a West Dunbartonshire HSPC would have gone through the Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS Board. This is therefore formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
Request 3: Now that this crisis has arisen, has consideration been given to reimbursing all or part of the clawback to alleviate the situation?
The funding provided in 2021/22 was ringfenced to support a range of specific COVID pressures. The surplus funding remained within the Health and Social Care portfolio and was redistributed across the sector to meet other Covid priorities as they emerged. It is therefore not available to support budgets in 2026-27.
While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to set budgets and ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.
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Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you as outlined above. This is therefore formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
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