Councils – not paying fair price for care!

Nine out of 10 councils in the UK are failing to pay realistic prices to support older and disabled people in their own homes, the industry says.

The UK Home Care Association calculated the minimum price councils should be paying was £16.70 per hour, but the average was over £2 less.

Councils said they had been left with little choice given the squeeze on their finances by the government.

But the UKHCA said the situation was threatening the future of the market.

It warned agencies were struggling to recruit staff and maintain quality, noting growing numbers of organisations were handing back contracts to councils. For more information on this story visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37756433