Care Home Fees

This morning I was on Radio Cornwall talking about the council's approach to setting care home fees. This follows the announcement yesterday that a care home in Hayle is to close in two weeks and that 19 residents will have to be found new homes.

Normally, care homes need to give at least 28 days notice if they are to close or evict a resident. This allows relatives, the council and other care providers the time to find the most appropriate alternative accommodation. It is disappointing in this case than only two weeks notice has been given but the council teams will work with residents and their relatives to make sure that they are safely re-housed.

The council is making more than £170 million savings. Every department but one has seen their budgets cut dramatically. The exception is adult care - a recognition of the increasing workload and the fact that they look after some of the most vulnerable people in Cornwall. Last year, we were even able to increase fees.

However, the council cannot afford to increase fee levels further and we are confident that the amount we pay is enough to provide the right level of care for elderly and vulnerable people. But we will always listen to care home providers if they feel that they have extra information to give us. We will also help care homes to work together to get better deals on things like utility bills and supplies.

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Do the Tories give a damn about social care?

So the Conservatives have refused to take part in a conference organised to look into the future of social care. Surely this can't be because actually they don't care?

They claim that the event is a political stunt, but - as well as Labour and the Lib Dems - it will be attended by the Local Government Association (chaired by a Tory) and a wide range of charities involved in the sector.

One of the future options that will be discussed is the Government's 'death tax' option that the Conservatives hate so much. They are, of course, entitled to their views on this which are shared by many people. But that isn't the only option to be discussed. Perhaps by turning up the Conservatives would have to admit that they were misleading people when they claimed that the death tax was Labour's settled policy when it isn't.

By attacking the conference as a political ploy, the Tories are accusing all the charities taking part of engaging in party politics - something they are not permitted to do.

There was a great episode of the West Wing on this very subject - how to pay for social security for older people. There were behind the scenes talks in that too. As soon as one side started playing for party advantage the whole thing came near to collapse.

If the Conservatives carry on playing the Party card then the only conclusion that can be reached is that they have no interest in a consensus on this issue.