Local authority agrees to make a fresh decision on care home fees
Article date: 16.11.11
An article by the English Community Care Association (ECCA) look at the implications of the recent decision by Staffordshire County Council to review their standard rates of fees payable to care homes in their area.
Whilst their decision has avoided a High Court challenge over their current arrangements (their standard rate has been frozen for the last two years), there is little doubt that their action will have wider implications for local authorities through England.
‘Staffordshire County Council was faced with a legal challenge at the High Court by the Fairer Fee Forum (FFF) who were representing 200 care providers within the local authority’s jurisdiction. However, after a dramatic turn of events, Staffordshire County Council agreed with the FFF to carry out a fresh review of setting their standard rates of fees for care homes so as to avoid a full blown legal challenge at the High Court. More importantly, the agreement between both parties resulted in a more beneficial outcome than any court ruling for the FFF and its members. The agreement means a fresh decision on care home fees will be undertaken coupled with an independent review of the process to ensure that Staffordshire County Council has complied with all their duties.
Staffordshire County Council agreed to carry out a fair, transparent and comprehensive review of the usual costs of providing care home care locally, and of any other factors, including local factors, relevant to the usual costs of providing care home care locally, so as to determine the level at which it ought to set its standard rates for care home provision. It also confirmed that this would relate to setting 2012/13 fees and also incorporate a fresh decision on 2011/12 fees’.