Council agrees 4% increase in fees it pays to care home providers

The increase follows an in-depth piece of work in 2017 which included consultation with care homes.

The increased fees also help sustain the local care home market which gives residents and their families greater choice.

Councillor Jim Beall, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: "Protecting those most in need is our priority so making sure that the Borough's older residents and their families have good quality care options is of utmost importance.

"Our fee structure is about doing everything we can to ensure that care provided for older residents is safe, available at the right time and of a high quality.

"We've listened carefully to care home providers across the Borough and carried out a thorough piece of work to determine the actual cost of providing high quality care.

"With this four per cent increase we're carefully aiming to balance value for money for our residents while paying a fair price to providers to ensure the care home market is sustainable.

"Of course the decision comes at a time when adult social care across the board is facing significant cost pressures but we're committed to making sure that care across Stockton-on-Tees is both suitable and available to those who need it."

Care home providers will get the increase from April 1 2019.