The majority of councils in England have either frozen or cut their care home fees, according to a new survey by healthcare consultants Laing and Buisson.
The company published its annual survey of baseline fees last week, which revealed that fees rose last year across the UK by just 0.3%.
Fees rose slightly in Scotland and Wales, but the survey found that 140 councils in England froze or reduced their fees.
‘As the news of Southern Cross’s demise sinks in, the care home sector will have to think hard about its response to real term cuts in local authority fees,’ said Laing and Buisson chief executive, William Laing.
Cllr David Rogers, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said many councils ‘go out of their way’ to support good care homes, with frequent bookings and block bookings.
A consortia of care home group owners in Birmingham lost its legal battle last week to get the city council to increase its care home fees.
r Justice Beaston rejected an application by the Birmingham Care Consortium to launch a judicial review as the city council was still considering how much it should pay in the current financial year.
