Background
WDF is funding from the Department of Health and Social Care that is distributed by Skills for Care through a network of employer led partnerships across England. The Care Workforce Development Partnership (CWDP) which is part of Partners in Care is the employer led partnership for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
Adult Social Care employers in England can access WDF towards the cost of staff completing adult health and social care qualifications e.g. Apprenticeships, Diplomas, Certificates, Awards and Learning Programmes, including leadership and management.
Claiming Workforce Development Funding in 2023/24
The 2023/24 WDF funds ends on 31 May 2024, please submit your claims for Qualifications and Apprenticeships by mid-May at the latest. Please email your WDF claims and certificates to Amanda Berey at
To be eligible to claim WDF in 2023/24 you must have completed 90% of the ASC-WDS (Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set) staff records since 1 April 2023 and before 31 March 2024. As soon as you are eligible please send us your WDF claims. The evidence we need is a copy of the certificate for any completed qualification, together with copies of the unit summary sheets, and a ULN (Unique Learner Number) for each candidate. We can only accept claims for qualifications that are included on the 2023/24 Skills for Care Funded Qualifications List. Certificates claimed in 2023/24 must be dated from 1 January 2023 through to 31 May 2024.
If you need help and support with your ASC-WDS account please contact the Skills for Care Support Team by email at
Changes to Funding for the Adult Social Care Sector affecting the Workforce Development Fund in 2024/25
Please click here for the latest Skills for Care funding update in relation to changes affecting the Workforce Development Fund in 2024/25.
The WDF will be scaled down in 2024-25. Skills for Care have confirmed that there will insufficient funding available to enable disbursal of WDF through the Partnerships and that for 2024/25 all employers will need to claim WDF directly from Skills for Care.
It will only be possible to claim WDF for learning which is already in progress. This means that qualifications and courses which start on or before 31 March 2024 will be eligible for 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.
The Care Workforce Development Partnership for Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin will continue with the disbursal of the 2023/24 WDF up to 31 May 2024, and will then cease to have any direct involvement in the disbursal of WDF. We will continue to support members and care providers to claim funding under the current 2023/24 WDF contract year through to 31 May 2024. Please continue to liaise with Amanda Berey