Crisis talks have taking place between care home owners and council leaders amid mounting concern a large number of providers are preparing to pull out of the market.

A report report last week warned 37,000 beds – nearly 10% – could go by 2020.

It blamed the fees paid by councils and pressure from the national living wage.

Charities will also be represented at the meeting with all sides calling for extra funding .

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “Faced with increasing costs and falling fee levels, many smaller care providers will go to the wall, jeopardising the care of thousands of vulnerable people.” He said the meeting in London discussed contingency planning for mass home closures and the collapse of many small providers.

Groups such as Age UK and Carers UK also attended with some of the big care companies and council representatives.

Unlike the NHS social care is not free. The sector is a mix of over 65s who pay for themselves and those who get local authority help towards the costs.

There are more than 400,000 elderly care home residents in England with more than half council-funded in part.

But the fees paid in those situations are sometimes as much as half what someone paying their own way has to find.

To read more about this story vivit the BBC news website

A million older people in England struggling with everyday tasks, such as washing and dressing, are being left to fend for themselves, campaigners say.

The Age UK review identified more than three million people aged over 65 with a care need, but found just two-thirds of them were actually getting help.

There are 10 million people over the age of 65 in England, the review said, and more than 3 million struggle with tasks such as washing, dressing, eating and going to the toilet.

Just over one million pay for care or rely on family and friends with another 850,000 supported by their local councils. But that leaves another one million who have to fend for themselves.

The review identified the following activities that older people find difficult:

• 16% have difficulty getting dressed

• 12% struggle with bathing

• 7% find it hard to get out of bed on their own

• 4% find it difficult to use the toilet

• 3% struggle to eat without help

To view the full story visit the BBC website.

The latest Everycare national conference was held in Oxford on Monday 5th October with franchisees attending from across the UK.

The conference reviewed existing care services and also considered issues impacting on the care sector including proposed changes to the living wage and its impact on care costs, live in care provision and staff recruitment.

Managing Director Mary Cottrell addressed and chaired the conference. Everycare conferences are held six monthly and play an important part in ensuring that good practice is implemented across the network.

(Photograph shows Mary Cottrell and the franchisees attending the conference).

Following the opening of Everycare’s latest regional office, Mary Cottrell the Managing Director of Everycare made a visit to the new premises to welcome the new franchise owner Martin Byrne.

Mary commenting on the opening of the new Wirral office said ” It is so exciting to open a new office, especially when the franchisee is so passionate about ensuring that the care provided is of the very highest quality. We are sure that the Wirral team will be a tremendous addition to the Everycare family”.

The new office is based in Heswall and more information can be found on their Regional Office Home page.