Decision details

Members considered a report on terms and conditions of contract for residential and nursing care and on the independent assessment of Social Care Fees paid by Cheshire East Council.

Cheshire East Council (CEC) currently spentover £37 million a year with the residential and nursing care market for older people. Like many other authorities, the Council was facing a significant financial and demographic challenge which would impact on the future demand for residential and nursing care and consequently the ability to fund it. 

Whilst demand management was helping to avoid future high cost interventions, there would inevitably be a residual need for accommodation-based care. It was therefore essential that the council obtained maximum value for money whilst ensuring that the quality of care was maintained and care markets were sustainable. To achieve this, the Council’s terms and conditions of contract for residential and nursing care had been re-written and an independent assessment of the social care fees paid by the Council had been commissioned to assess if these were ‘fair’. Further details were set out in the report.

RESOLVED

That

(1)  the new terms and conditions of contract for Residential and Nursing Care be approved for implementation from 1^st April 2013;

(2)  the conclusions of the independent assessment of social care fees conducted by Red Quadrant Consultants be accepted;

(3)  the Council retain fee levels for care services at current levels in 2013/14; and

(4)  the Council be prepared to listen to individual requests from providers for increases where these have been assessed as justified following an open book exercise.