8th June 2012
98% of residential home care providers do not believe they are paid enough by local councils to be able to meet public expectations of quality, a new survey by Labour has found.
92% say that pressure on residential care providers because of low council fees is creating a two-tier market for residential care, as new investment is directed at wealthier areas of the country with higher proportions of people who are able to self-fund their care.
94% of providers report that council-funded residents are typically older, with higher levels of need and surviving for shorter periods than they used to.
Labour surveyed members of the National Care Forum and English Community Care Association, which represent care providers in the voluntary, private and not for profit sectors. Responses were received from organisations that provide approximately 10% of adult residential care home beds in England.
Compared to 2009/10, these providers report an average cut in local council fees across 2010/11 and 2011/12 of 0.1% in cash terms, despite high rates of inflation. This means there has been a significant real terms cut in local council fees for residential care over the last 2 years.
As a result: