Reform blames others for failure to sell care homes

Ashbourne’s The Leys is one of eight in the county that could close

- By Jon Cooper Local Democracy Reporter

The Leys in Ashbourne is under threat of closure

DERBYSHIRE County Council's business services chief has blamed the authority’s former Conservative administration and the Labour Government for the collapse of plans to sell eight of its care homes, one of which is in Ashbourne, which has left them in danger of being closed down.

The former Conservative-controlled council originally agreed to sell nine care homes while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit after it argued a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home, due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care.

But last month the new Reform UK council administration confirmed the planned sale of eight of the nine earmarked care homes to a single provider had fallen through, with claims from the union UNISON that the authority will be forced to shut these eight homes after a failed attempt to sell them.

Reform County Cllr Stephen Reed, cabinet member for business services, said: "It has been explained this decision was made under the Conservatives and the decision to close them if the deal fell through was a Conservative decision."

He added the deal was also not commercially viable due to government changes that have seen an increase in employer National Insurance contributions to be paid by employers and an increase in the minimum wage for employees.

Cllr Reed also claimed that anyone buying the council care homes would also be obliged to fulfil existing 'huge' pension commitments for the council employees based at the care homes.

He said: "Why did the deal fall through? It’s because it’s not commercially viable given the [minimum] wage increases and NI contributions and given they were taking on council employees with a huge pension.