Local authorities avoiding care home developments, says Tory MP

[ad_1]

Local authorities are reluctant to provide planning consent for care homes and retirement homes due to fears over social care funding costs, a Tory MP has said.

Conservative MP and former deputy prime minister Damian Green made the remarks during a debate on Tackling Britain’s Care Crisis at the Resolution Foundation, The Guardian reported.

The Tory MP said: “Local authorities don’t want to become attractive places for retired people.

“If things go on as they are, local authorities will become social care providers with everything else as ‘add-ons’ and the traditional things we all expect from them simply not existing.”

Ian Hudspeth, chair of the Community and Wellbeing Board at the LGA, said he had not seen any planning permissions being rejected for this reason but pointed to the increasing strains on the sector.

The LGA chair highlighted a recent ADASS report which revealed that almost half of councils had seen the closure of domestic home care providers in their area in the past year and a third had seen residential care homes closed, affecting more than 8,000 clients and residents.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “People deserve to have a choice of high-quality care services wherever they live in the country. Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their populations and are responsible for shaping their local markets so they are sustainable, diverse and offer high-quality care and support for local people.

“We have given local authorities access to up to £3.9bn more dedicated funding for adult social care this year with a further £410m available for adults’ and children’s services. We will set out our plans to reform the social care system at the earliest opportunity to ensure it is sustainable for the future.”

The post Local authorities avoiding care home developments, says Tory MP appeared first on Care Home Professional.

[ad_2]

Source link