Ninety-five UK councils have had home care contracts cancelled by private companies struggling to deliver services on the funding offered, an investigation has found. One home care company – Cymorth Llaw in Bangor, Wales – was forced to hand back its contract with Conwy council because it felt unable to provide adequate care with the council’s funding offer of £15 an hour. Alan Long, an executive director at Mears, told the programme: “That was a terrible thing to do for both service users and for care staff. There have been repeated calls for more money for social care, with charities, local councils and thinktanks saying the gap in funding was between £1.3bn to £2bn. In this month’s budget, the chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced £2bn of extra funding for social care over the next three years, and said the system was “clearly under pressure”.

Source: The Guardian March 20, 2017 07:29 UTC