Crisis talks held by council leaders on care home closures

Crisis talks have taking place between care home owners and council leaders amid mounting concern a large number of providers are preparing to pull out of the market.

A report report last week warned 37,000 beds – nearly 10% – could go by 2020.

It blamed the fees paid by councils and pressure from the national living wage.

Charities will also be represented at the meeting with all sides calling for extra funding .

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “Faced with increasing costs and falling fee levels, many smaller care providers will go to the wall, jeopardising the care of thousands of vulnerable people.” He said the meeting in London discussed contingency planning for mass home closures and the collapse of many small providers.

Groups such as Age UK and Carers UK also attended with some of the big care companies and council representatives.

Unlike the NHS social care is not free. The sector is a mix of over 65s who pay for themselves and those who get local authority help towards the costs.

There are more than 400,000 elderly care home residents in England with more than half council-funded in part.

But the fees paid in those situations are sometimes as much as half what someone paying their own way has to find.

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