County council agrees to reconsider care home fees decision after JR threat

A county council has agreed to reconsider its decision on the fees payable to residential care home providers for 2011/12 in the face of a potential judicial review challenge.

Staffordshire County Council had been threatened with legal action by the Fairer Fee Forum, which represents some 200 providers in the area.

According to the consent order, the council will now conduct "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 inform the [council's] decisions as to the level at which it ought to set its standard rates for care home provision".

The two sides have also agreed to develop a new contracting model, which could – amongst other features – see fees based on the quality of services provided.

Staffordshire said it would work with the sector to “support them in seeking efficiencies from the products and services they buy, to allow greater resources for investment in the improvement of quality and value for money of their services”.

Cllr Matthew Ellis, Cabinet Member for Adults and Well Being at Staffordshire, said: “I am delighted that we’ve reached a voluntary agreement with [the Fairer Fee Forum], without the potential cost to taxpayers of a judicial review. We live in challenging times and we have been working closely with the care home sector in Staffs to look at ways to assist them in meeting some of the financial challenges.

“This agreement is a common-sense solution which has the potential to put the care home sector in Staffordshire on a firmer footing for the future. I look forward to continuing to work with the sector now that this issue is settled.”

In a statement the English Community Care Association, whose chief executive Martin Green is chairman of the Forum, said: “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.”

Green added: “I have previously stated that we have tried to positively engage local authorities and to educate health commissioners, but these efforts have never borne fruit. The bottom line is that the only way to move a PCT or a local authority these days is through the real threat of legal action or litigation and this has been proved today."

The ECCA’s chief executive said there were other cases involving local authorities that had reached the permission stage of judicial review proceedings or are at the initial stages of a legal challenge.

News of a deal between Staffordshire and the Fairer Fee Forum comes just days after the High Court ruled that a decision by Sefton Council to freeze fees for a second year running was unlawful.

Over-50s group Saga has meanwhile warned that the legal system could be “swamped” by cases on care home fees. It urged the government and policymakers to put social care to the top of the agenda.

Philip Hoult