Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Head of Adults’ Services.

It was resolved –

·      To approve the recommendations to increase fee levels as follows:-

·         Residential Care (Older People) - £874.18 per week

·         Residential (Dementia) - £976.89 per week

·         Nursing Care (Social Care element) – £952.07 per week (excluding LA and HB FNC)

·         Nursing (Dementia) (Social Care element) - £1,125.03 per week (excluding LA and HB FNC)

·      To authorise Social Services and the Finance Service to respond to any requests from individual homes to explore their specific accounts, and to utilise the exercise as a basis to consider any exceptions to the agreed fees. Any exceptions to be agreed with the Adult Service Portfolio Holder, the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer and the Head of Adult Social Care within current budgets.

The report of the Head of Adult Services which set out proposed independent sector care home fees for 2026/27 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Neville Evans, Portfolio Member for Adult Services presented the report noting that the Council is required to review independent sector care home fees annually to coincide with Central Government’s changes to benefits and pensions levels. When setting fee levels for independent sector care homes, a range of factors must be taken into account including local circumstances, demand pressures and the availability of provision.

The Executive proposes a 5% increase in independent sector care home fees for 2026/27, covering residential, residential dementia, nursing and nursing dementia placements. This uplift is intentionally higher than the inflationary increases indicated by the regional methodology toolkit (Table 1 of the report) and the uplift awarded to in-house provision. The higher increase reflects the local financial pressures on providers and the need to maintain sufficient care home capacity. The recommended weekly fees are outlined  in Table 2 of the report and exclude free nursing care contributions. They apply to homes that accept the Council’s standard rates. Homes already receiving above the standard rates will be asked to share financial information which will be considered when determining any monetary uplift. Exceptions to the fee levels will be considered where clear evidence shows that the fee set is insufficient in any individual case. It is proposed that such decisions are delegated to the Section 151 Officer, Head of Adult Services and the Portfolio Member for Adult Services.

The Head of Adult Services noted that Anglesey’s fees are competitive within the region and remain slightly below the Welsh average.

It was resolved –

·      To approve the recommendations to increase fee levels as follows:-

• Residential Care (Older People) - £874.18 per week
• Residential (Dementia) - £976.89 per week
• Nursing Care (Social Care element) – £952.07 per week (excluding LA and HB FNC)
• Nursing (Dementia) (Social Care element) - £1,125.03 per week (excluding LA and HB FNC)

·      To authorise Social Services and the Finance Service to respond to any requests from individual homes to explore their specific accounts, and to utilise the exercise as a basis to consider any exceptions to the agreed fees. Any exceptions to be agreed with the Adult Service Portfolio Holder, the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer and the Head of Adult Social Care within current budgets.