The WDF will be scaled down in 2024-25, only funding qualifications and apprenticeships already in progress by 31 March 2024 and completed by 31 March 2025.
Update - 10 June 2024
On 22 May 2024 the Prime Minister asked His Majesty the King to dissolve Parliament in preparation for a general election. Parliament was dissolved on Thursday 30 May and the General Election will take place on Thursday 4 July.
The pre-election period started at 00:01 on Saturday 25 May. During this period there are restrictions on the conduct of government business, including information sharing and communications. This arises from the special character of government business during an election campaign, and from the need to maintain, and be seen to maintain, the impartiality of the Civil Service.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has assessed that further decisions or communications activity relating to funding under the Adult Social Care Training and Development Fund (TDF) should be suspended over the pre-election period.
DHSC aims to provide further information when the general election period concludes and they are in a position to do so.
In the 2024-25 financial year a new learning and development fund will be launched: the Adult Social Care Training and Development Fund. This new fund will not be administered by Skills for Care.
This fund will be available to eligible adult social care employers in England, who will be able to claim reimbursement for training costs for qualifying staff. This includes care workers who are non-UK nationals, as long as they are legally employed and have a UK National Insurance Number.
Reimbursement will require evidence of spend. Further information on this new fund has been published in a new guidance document, now available on the GOV.UK website.
The new guidance document covers:
- the eligibility criteria for being able to make claims through the fund
- how the funding can be used, including the courses and qualifications within scope of the fund
- when the funding will be available
- the fund reimbursement rates
- the transition arrangements from the Workforce Development Fund
- details on how adult social care employers will be able to make a claim
Further queries regarding this new fund should be directed to ASCreimbursement@dhsc.gov.uk
Transition from WDF to new fund
The WDF will be scaled down in 2024-25. It will only be possible to claim WDF for learning which is already in progress. This means that qualifications and apprenticeships which start on or before 31 March 2024 will be eligible for the WDF as long as the learner completes and the certificate is issued by 31 March 2025.
This is to ensure that employers who have already paid for learning and development are not left out of pocket. Courses and qualifications which start on or after 1 April 2024 will not be eligible for funding through the WDF.
In 2024-25, all employers will claim WDF directly from Skills for Care. The tender opportunity for large national organisations is open until 3 May. Further details about the launch of the fund will be made available in due course via our enews.
In 2024-25, funding for user-led organisations, individual employers and personal assistants will be made available in the usual ways through Skills for Care.