https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764031
Require government to introduce transparent national pricing for adult social care and end the current system where local authority fees fall below the cost of care, forcing providers, private residents and households to subsidise publicly funded care placements.
Local authorities frequently purchase care below the cost of delivering safe services. The gap does not disappear. It is transferred onto private residents, families asked to pay top-ups, and providers operating with unsustainable margins and suppressed wages. This hidden cost-shifting is inequitable, distorts the care market and may undermine the Care Act duty to maintain a sustainable provider market.
The petition asks the UK Government to:
• introduce transparent national cost-of-care pricing frameworks
• ensure publicly commissioned care is funded at the cost of delivering safe services
• end reliance on hidden cross-subsidy from private households and providers
• support a sustainable care workforce and provider market
England’s adult social care system increasingly relies on cross-subsidy.
When local authority fees fall below the cost of care:
private residents pay higher fees
families are asked for third-party top-ups
providers absorb financial losses
staff wages remain suppressed
The Competition and Markets Authority estimated that this system results in around £1 billion per year being transferred from self-funding residents to subsidise publicly funded care.
(Competition and Markets Authority, Care Homes Market Study, 2017)
Following the collapse of my own care home business, I am personally facing losses of £350,000–£500,000.
Like many providers across the sector, we attempted to sustain services by:
charging higher fees to private residents
asking families for top-ups
operating with extremely tight margins
paying staff less than they deserved because it was all we could afford.
This is not a sustainable or transparent way to fund a vital public service.
Please sign the petition here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764031
Join here for updates -