Care home sector hit by 15% increase in fees - Sollitt

7.25.00pm GMT Wed 15th Feb 2006

Commenting on the Department of Health's announcement on the fifteen percent increase in fees for care home registration and inspection, Liberal Democrat Campaigner for Southampton Test, Steve Sollitt, said:

"The burden of these increased charges will inevitably be passed onto older people, affecting many across Southampton Test..

"The charges will fall on care home owners who are then likely to charge higher fees to local authorities. At the end of the day it will be vulnerable older people who are forced to pay more through top-up fees to guarantee their place in a home.

"The Government needs to streamline regulation to ensure essential protection for our elderly is not buried beneath bureaucracy. The cost of regulation continues to stifle a sector that is already overstretched and under-resourced."