Challenge over care home closure decision dismissed

Efforts to force Derbyshire County Council to reconsider moves to sell off eight care homes and close five day care centres have been rejected.

Plans to shut eight authority-run care homes and five day centres were approved last month.

The Conservative-run authority said there had been a fall in demand for residential homes as well as a need to "focus resources on providing care for people with dementia".

Opponents had said a lack of detail on any estimated savings or subsequent knock-on expenditures meant the decision should be reconsidered - but this was dismissed by a scrutiny committee on Monday.

The council currently has a budget deficit of over £39m for the 2024-25 financial year, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

It blames this on reduced government funding, the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation rates, higher prices for fuel, energy and materials, rising costs, meeting the cost of the national pay award and the growing demand for adults’ and children’s social care services.

Since being put forward in the summer, the plans have been met with pleas to think again.

This includes residents and families, union campaigners and Derbyshire Labour MPs.

Labour group deputy leader Ruth George told the scrutiny meeting: “This report is unclear how much will be saved and there is no detail and it lacks clarity whether it will make any savings.

“Also, the additional costs of private sector care is not stipulated nor does it take account of rising costs of private cost care beds that the council incurs when the council exits the market.”

Ms George added where there were no council-run care homes the private sector sees a "green light" to increase fees and residents will also be forced to travel further afield to find a care home.

But cabinet member for adult care, Natalie Hoy, told the meeting the county council was one of largest providers of residential care in the country and had to redesign the service to support people in the most sustainable way.

The scrutiny committee voted by a majority that there had been no breach in the cabinet’s decision making principles in its agreement to close and sell eight care homes and close five day care centres.

The council has agreed to consult on proposed changes to its remaining four residential care homes in a move towards "a single operating model of care".

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