Denbighshire cabinet to discuss £1.1m boost for care home fees

Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet will discuss the 2024/25 Care Home Fee increase at the next Cabinet Meeting, which will take place on March 19. 

The recommendation will be an increase of 8.8% for 2024/25.

Councillor Elen Heaton, Lead Member for Health and Social Care said: “The provision of care is at the heart of the Council’s priorities, and this is evidenced in our approved budget allocations for 2024/25, which prioritises protection for social care and education, despite the acute nationwide local government funding crisis.

"It’s within this context we’ve approached the issue of care fees with due diligence and prudence, recognising the need to balance challenging financial constraints with our commitment to prioritising care provision.

"We currently spend around £13 million on approximately 364 placements in 82 care homes. This constitutes a huge part of our Adult Social Care & Homelessness budget and totals 6% of the Council’s overall total net revenue budget.

"At our upcoming Cabinet meeting, I will be proposing an 8.8% increase in our care fees, following careful consideration of inflation and the Real Living Wage increase.

"If approved by Cabinet, our expenditure on care home fees will increase by around £1.1 million. Given that the proposed increase is substantially more than the modest 3.8% increase we’ve received in our settlement, this increase will significantly impact our budget at a time where savings targets loom large across various council services.

"However, whilst this decision comes with financial implications, it reflects our priorities as a council, and upholds our commitment to prioritising care provision in our community.

"We value our care providers in Denbighshire and remain committed to fostering an open and fair relationship with them. To this end, we consistently offer the opportunity for an ‘open book exercise’, where providers can openly share their financial information with us. This allows for a transparent discussion about the costs involved in delivering care services and helps ensure that public funds are being used efficiently.

"As Lead Member, I stand firmly behind this proposal, confident that it reflects our commitment to maintaining a sustainable future for the care sector in Denbighshire.”