Plymouth care homes threaten legal action over fees

Plymouth Care Providers Group has rejected the city council's offer of an average 5.6% rise in fees

Care home owners in Plymouth may take their local authority to court over the amount they are paid to look after residents.

A group of more than 30 owners claim Plymouth City Council is underpaying them by about £100 a week per person.

It costs more than £20m a year to care for about 800 people in 69 council-funded residential and nursing homes.

The authority, which insists it offers a fair deal, announced on Wednesday it is to increase the fees by about 5%.

Councillor Sue McDonald said the majority of care home owners in the city had accepted its offer of an average 5.6% increase in rates.

'Basic' care

"They also accept that these are difficult times for local authorities," she said.

However 31 care home owners have rejected the offer and joined forces as the Plymouth Care Providers Group.

The group said there was a wide gap between the actual cost of caring and the amount the local authority paid.

It also says residents who pay their own costs have to pay more - in effect subsidising the council.

Plymouth Care Providers Group spokesman Alan Beale said the lack of proper funding meant it was hard to provide care above the "basic" level.

"Extra staff to spend time reading or talking with the residents - those things which are a little bit above the basic care in keeping people safe - are extremely hard to provide when you are routinely paid less than it really costs," he said.

Devon court action

But Plymouth City Council said it had to balance the fees required to fund care arrangements and an individual's ability to pay.

It said the increase in fees paid to care homes would vary between homes and residents as the amount paid depended on issues such as the size of the care home and a resident's care needs, but the average across the sector was 5.6%.

But the increase in the fees paid by the council will also mean people living in care homes who are funded by the authority may also have to pay more.

"There may be a small number of individuals affected by this decision," a council statement said.

"This is usually the case when we increase fees paid to providers."

Earlier this year some care home owners took legal action against Devon County Council, which increased its care fees by 6.6%.

The judge found it had not properly consulted owners, and although he did not rule its rates were unfair, the care home owners have won another court hearing in the autumn.