By Lucy Ashton
A new £1 million fund has been established to support projects which look after the well-being of staff working in social care.
The Workforce Well-being Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care will be managed by Inspiring Scotland and provide grants of up to £10,000 until December 2022.
Minister for Mental Wel-lbeing and Social Care Kevin Stewart said: “Everyone working across social work and social care has shown an invaluable commitment to delivering a first class service and compassionate care through the most difficult of times.
“This fund is about giving staff anything which makes them feel better and supports their resilience. Applications can be as creative as possible, as long as they focus on our most valuable asset, our people. Grants could be given for activities or to purchase equipment that will improve the well-being of the workforce. Ask your staff what they most want or need, and please take advantage of this fund to help them get it.
“Workforce well-being must remain a priority as we continue to move through this pandemic and recovery. We will overcome the challenges ahead if we look after our people.”
Head of Funds at Inspiring Scotland Kaylie Allen said: “We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government on this programme. The importance of the people providing frontline care and the challenges they have faced delivering the most essential services over the last 18 months cannot be overstated.
“This fund will provide a flexible and easy way for adult social care and social work staff to access support for their own well-being.”
The Scottish Government has made £12 million available to support the well-being of the health and social care workforce. This new fund, which is open to applications until 29 July 2022, will ensure £1 million of targeted support towards the well-being of staff in the social work and social care sector, which faces unique challenges in accessing available funding since it consists of a mix of local authority, private and voluntary sector provision.
Meanwhile, see here for further information and details of how to apply to the Workforce Well-being Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care.
All applications will be screened by a multi-agency panel comprising of Inspiring Scotland, the Scottish Government and a member of the Oversight Social Work/ Social Care Workforce Well-being sub group, ensuring that individuals from the social work/social care sector are involved in the screening process.
Inspiring Scotland works with people, communities, charities and public bodies to develop solutions to some of the deepest social problems. They raise and manage funds, working closely with organisations to provide support for their unique circumstances.
Meanwhile, health and social care staff are “furious” that more than £3m of thank-you payments were given to some of the highest-paid staff working for councils, a trade union has said.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced in November 2020 that all health and social care staff would receive a £500 thank-you payment in recognition of their “extraordinary” work during the pandemic.
A freedom of information request by the GMB found that 5890 of the 38,609 total recipients employed by local authorities (15.3%) were on pay grades stretching above £40,000.
GMB organiser, Keir Greenaway, described the payment to top earners as “a bonus to well-paid staff who weren’t on the frontline of the pandemic response”.
The payment, which workers had to pay tax on, was offered to all directly-employed NHS Scotland staff, including those who helped with the coronavirus response for at least one month between March 17 and November 30, 2020, as well as social care staff employed by local authorities.
The breakdown of payments obtained by the GMB found that 15% of payments went to council staff on £40,000 or more, including 67 payments to the most senior managers, heads of service and directors with chief officer grades.
Mr Greenaway, a senior organiser for the GMB, said: “Our members are furious. These payments were meant to be an acknowledgement for those putting their lives on the line during the pandemic.
“We had very senior managers, often working from home, getting thank-you payments whilst our members were out risking everything, struggling with poor or non-existent PPE to keep the country moving.
“It’s time the Scottish Government fund the key workers they appear to have forgotten about: refuse collectors, cleaners, school staff, rather than was money feathering the nests of the top brass.”
Of the 28 out of 32 councils who responded to the FOI, Perth and Kinross had the highest proportion of thank-you payments awarded to staff potentially earning more than £40,000, with 26.7% of eligible workers getting the bonus.
A spokesman for Cosla, the local authority umbrella group, said: “Councils were simply the delivery vehicle for this. – “It was a Scottish Government policy that they were solely responsible for.”
“We are hugely grateful to the efforts of the many key workers in different sectors across Scotland as they rose to the challenge of responding to the pandemic.
“The payment was made to NHS and social care staff in recognition of their efforts on the front line during the pandemic.”