Devon County Council ordered to refund 50 per cent of claimants' costs on care home fees

A judicial review into care home fees set by Devon County Council has ruled the authorities’ actions to be unlawful, after the process was shown to have been lacking in the necessary consultation.

The review was brought about by the combined efforts of a group of five care home providers who were displeased with the council’s decision to freeze fees for the 2011/12 financial year, and for the second year in a row.

As a result of the ruling, Devon County Council (DCC) have been ordered to pay a first instalment of £40,000 within 21 days, as the first step towards refunding 50% of the claimants’ costs.

A partner at QualitySolicitors Burroughs Day, who represented the five care providers, Mei-Ling Huang commented:

“This Judgement confirms that DCC acted unlawfully in failing to enter into a dialogue with providers about the way care home fees are set. Although our clients were disappointed that a case like this should ever have had to come to court, it is an important victory for a group of care providers who were brave enough to put their heads above the parapet and take legal action to try to maintain the quality of care they are able to provide to vulnerable residents. It shows that the fees setting process should be a two-way street.

“The Court’s decision is part of a rising tide of pressure on local authorities to ensure they take the law into account when setting care home fees. This case, along with two similar cases in Pembrokeshire, one in Sefton and another in Leicestershire, demonstrates that local authorities can be held accountable for unlawful practices. We have already seen the effects of these cases in the South West region where local authorities in Devon, Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall have offered percentage increases for 2012/13. The recent judicial reviews have helped to give care providers a fairer position from which to engage and negotiate with local authorities. It appears that the freeze on fees is beginning to thaw.”

The five care providers praised by Mei-Ling Huang for their actions are: Southern Healthcare (Wessex) Ltd, South West Care Homes Ltd, South West Residential Homes Ltd, Forde Park Care and Palm Court Nursing Home. Managing director of South West Care Homes Ltd Alan Beale spoke on behalf of the claimants:

“We are very pleased that the Court has found in our favour. The actual cost of providing high quality care has risen dramatically over the past few years and it is an issue affecting the whole care industry. It is our absolute priority to provide high quality care tailored to the needs of individual residents, giving them dignity and respect, and ensuring they have as much control over their care plan as possible. However, as well as rising costs to manage, we live in a part of the country with an ever-growing population of older people, many of whom have increasingly complex needs. Given that DCC froze the fees it paid for residents it placed in our care for two years in a row, it has been more and more difficult to maintain a high quality of care. We hope that the Court’s ruling will encourage DCC to engage with care providers in Devon when going through the crucial fee-setting process in the future, and we look forward to working with the Council to provide the best possible care for Devon’s older people.”

Pictured above: QualitySolicitors Burroughs Day partner Mei-Ling Huang

Update 18/05/12: Devon County Council have responded to this article: http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1557032/devon-county-council-claim-vindication-over-judicial-review