The care home sector continues to see demand. The average
lifespan in the UK has increased considerably in the last forty
years and the need for residential and nursing care continues to
grow. That being said, funding in current financial climates is
proving to be a battle for service providers as the squeeze on
local authority and NHS budgets has translated into frozen or
reduced fees for placements. Combined with minimum wage increases,
upwards-only rent, and higher service demands, the financial
pressures faced by the sector are mounting.
The case of R (Sefton Care Association and others) v Sefton
Council [2011] shows that all is not lost in the battle for a
fair price for care. The High Court ruled Sefton Council's
unilateral decision to freeze payments to care homes for 2011-12
unlawful, as the decision was made without proper consultation with
care providers and the Council had failed to consider the actual
cost of care. The statutory obligation to provide residential
accommodation is set out in the National Assistance Act 1948. The
Council argued that under supporting statute, they were not obliged
to pay more than they would usually expect to fund residential
care, and claimed they could obtain services for the fees at frozen
level. However, the High Court rejected this argument. The Council
were under an obligation to have regard to the needs of the service
user when assessing payments to be made, and fees should therefore
reflect an amount sufficient to meet the costs of care under proper
consultation - fees therefore could not simply be fixed at a level
which the Council was used to paying on an argument that care had
been provided at that cost previously.
A more recent ruling in East Midlands Care, R v Leicestershire
County Council [2011] also found that Leicestershire
Council's frozen rates for care home fees were unlawful,
closely following the same reasoning as Sefton.
This is a positive outcome for service providers struggling to
provide good quality care at unsustainably low rates. Similarly,
service users can take comfort from the ruling which emphasises
local authorities' duty to focus on their needs above budgetary
constraints. We may see more cases of this nature if local
authorities do not correctly assess their fee levels to ensure
service standards can be met at workable costs.
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