Council faces court case over fees

Private care home owners in Durham have
increased their fees by £70 a week after giving the council
just 28 days’ notice of the rise.

Members of the County Durham Care
Homes Association raised fees to £350 per week on 1 April,
though the council has said it can only afford £280. Durham
Council is already being taken to court over fees by two care home
owners because of its refusal to pay last year’s rise.

Aneurin Thomas, secretary of the
association, estimated the fees shortfall between 1 June and 31
March was around £4m to £5m.

“The
court case is about the right we have to set our own fees rather
than be dictated to,” he said.

The
association has written to Tony Blair advising him that the
financial backlog may have to be found from central
funds.

Meanwhile, in Carmarthenshire
members of the council were due to meet this week to discuss the
impact of the new care standards.

A
survey of its 14 residential homes revealed that £20m is
required to bring the homes up to standard but the council cannot
afford this. Officers were expected to recommend a public
consultation exercise based on various options. These include the
transfer of all homes to an independent sector provider or housing
association, to a new Carmarthenshire care trust or an existing
care trust, or to a not-for-profit organisation.