GovWire

This guidance is for local authorities.

In October 2023, the Minister of State for Care wrote to all local authorities to set out the departments priorities for innovation and scaling in adult social care. The aim of the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) is to support the adoption or scaling of projects that deliver these priorities.

In order to participate, local authorities are asked to form consortia with other local authorities in their integrated care system (ICS) geography. Then, working together with the NHS and other partners, consortia should select 2 or more projects to take forward, with one project focused on unpaid carers.

This guidance document provides details on the:

• process for accessing the fund
• support offer from the Social Care Institute for Excellence
• funding distribution approach
• expectations during the funding period
• evaluation approach