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Devon County Council - New ASC care home contract and older persons care homes fee model – Effective 10 November 2025
Devon County Council shared the decision letter with care home providers yesterday; full details can be found here: PEN website
- The new contract applies to all care home providers. To continue receiving referrals for new Council-funded placements (including hospital discharges), providers must sign and return the new contract.
- An email from Devon County Council’s procurement team, outlining how to sign up to the new contract, will be issued to providers this week.
- If your organisation has not received the contract email by Friday 17 October, please contact: procurementpeople-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Provider Workshops: Supporting the Implementation of New ASC care home contract and older persons care homes fee model
To support the introduction of Devon County Council’s new fee model and the implementation of the co-produced Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), a series of online support workshops will be held for care home providers and staff.
These sessions are designed to help providers understand the changes and embed the SOP into daily practice. The workshops will be led by DCC colleagues from commissioning, contracts, operations and the Arranging Support Team (AST).
Workshop Schedule:
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Thursday 23 October 2025, 09:30–11:30 – For Registered Providers and Directors
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Tuesday 28 October 2025, 14:00–16:00 – For Registered Managers
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Thursday 30 October 2025, 09:30–11:30 – For Registered Managers
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Tuesday 4 November 2025, 14:00–16:00 – For Registered Managers
Registration links will be shared via email shortly.
Please ensure you complete the registration process using the provided links to secure access to your preferred session.
Under 65s Care Home Market – Online Q&A Session
An online drop-in session via MS Teams will be held for care homes supporting people with disabilities on Tuesday 21 October 2025, from 12:00-12:30.
This session will provide an opportunity to ask questions about the new contract and its rollout. Further details, including the meeting link, will be emailed shortly via GovDelivery to relevant providers.
Should you require any clarification to the above information, please get in touch with us at socialcarebusinessrelations-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Reminder - Devon Care Homes Nursing Education Forum
Join Devon Care Homes Collaborative for their Nursing Education Forum on 22 October between 2-3pm.
Julie Kemmner, Clinical Community Dietitian and Team Lead at the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, will give a talk on what to consider and implement when residents aren't maintaining good nutrition and hydration.
You can register for this session here. You can also watch recordings of all the other sessions held to date. Topics include, leading a team and supportive networks, APIE essentials for care home nurses, the process of SBARD, management of pain and identifying pain in dementia. We look forward to seeing you on 22 October!
Infection Control Resources from NHS Devon for All Care Providers
You have probably heard people talking about infections becoming increasingly resistant to the medicines we use to fight infections.
Did you know that you play a crucial role in preventing infections and keeping antibiotics working?
Find out more by listening to or watching these Who Cares? podcasts:
You can find out more information at
We would love to hear what you thought about the podcasts and what further information you would like. Please do feedback via this link https://forms.office.com/e/54hTtBVabh
Workforce Development Team - Work Experience for Young People
We at the Workforce Development Team, currently working in partnership with Exeter College to develop a structured work experience block week for their Health and Social Care students (18+). We are proposing to host this annually, with the suggested dates for 2026 being Monday 22 to Friday 26 June. We anticipate welcoming 4–5 students during the week.
We are reaching out to explore whether your organisation would be able to host up to two students per day across three days of the work experience week. We want deliver this work experience collaboratively offering a range of experience within adult social care.
Students will be selected through a competitive process to ensure their commitment and readiness. An induction day will be provided to prepare them for the placement. This initiative forms part of our succession planning, offering students valuable insight into adult social care and providing your team with the opportunity to inspire the next generation of professionals.
We understand the demands on your service and would like to gauge your interest before confirming arrangements with Exeter College.
We would be grateful if you could let us know whether your team would be able to support this opportunity at adultsc.workforcetrainingeducation-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Department of Health and Social Care Fair Pay Agreement
Consultation and related information
On 30 September, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) began a consultation on the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA).
Here are links to various documents relevant to this subject and how you can get involved and respond:
The consultation closes on the 16 January 2026.
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