Councils ‘not paying the full cost of care’

A group of housing associations, charities and private care providers has engaged barrister Cherie Booth to fight their case against 140 local authorities at a judicial review.

The Fairer Fees Forum will argue that councils pay far less than the real cost of providing residential, nursing and domiciliary care services.

It will also say that councils pay far higher fees to council-run care homes than to those owned by independent providers. The forum wants the court to introduce a model for setting fees, which it will submit in evidence.

On average provincial councils pay £388.50 per week for a residential care bed for an older person, but consultants Laing and Buisson say the real cost is £463 to £538 per week. In London care providers get £536 per place against a recommended sum of £574 to £648 per week.

Solicitors Aston Brooke have been engaged to work alongside former prime minister Tony Blair’s wife. The lawyers hope to issue papers in the next three months. They will challenge both social services funding, which pays for residential and nursing care, and Supporting People funds, which cover domiciliary care.

Martin Green, chair of the Fairer Fees Forum, said the organisation also planned to report around 25 councils to their district auditors because their in-house care services cost nearly a third more than those provided by charities and private firms.

The forum may also raise the issue with the House of Commons public accounts committee and regulator the Care Quality Commission. ‘The bottom line is councils have not been paying the full cost of care,’ he added.

The forum includes housing associations Metropolitan Housing Trust, Anchor Trust and Abbeyfield Society.

John Jackson, joint chair of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services Resources Network, said: ‘Local authorities are committed to working constructively with all potential providers. We want to see a diverse range of providers to deliver good outcomes and ensure value for money.’

He added that councils took a range of things into account when deciding what to pay providers including ‘land values in the areas, new registration requirements, levels of needs to be met, comparative fee levels elsewhere, and local supply and demand’.

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