A North Wales care home owner has warned of more closures due to a “very unjust” North-South funding gap.

Ceri Roberts, director of Cariad Care Homes in Gwynedd, said she would be paid an extra £500,000 a year for her services in parts of South Wales.

Roberts said: “If my care homes were in parts of South Wales, I would be over £7,000 per local authority funded resident more per annum so that would that would potentially equate to around £500,000.

“The extra money would enable us to have additional staff and we could invest more money in the homes. It could be put to good use instead of the constant struggle to make ends meet.

“Clearly, vulnerable people in South Wales are valued more than people in Gwynedd. Food costs the same in South Wales as it does here. It’s very unjust.

“I would anticipate that more care homes will close if things don’t change. It’s inevitable.”

A table compiled by industry champions Care Forum Wales (CFW) showed all six local authorities in North Wales are rock bottom when it comes to the residential care fees paid to independent providers.

At the same time, according to Roberts, homes like hers are being hit by a double whammy of “irresponsibly low” fees and soaring costs which will inevitably lead to more care home closures across North Wales.

Roberts added: “I’ve been managing care homes since 2005 and year on year, it gets tougher.  .

“Our food costs have gone up by 22% in the last 12 months and there’s been a 21% increase in the price of incontinence products. At the same time, utilities have gone up 100%. Those three items are the bulk of our costs other than payroll.

“We have been paying our staff the Real Living Wage for almost two years and we did that voluntarily. We just felt that the work the staff do is exceptional. It’s a tough job. It’s physically and emotionally a very difficult job. We’re very grateful for the team that we have and they deserve to be rewarded for the work that they do.

“All we’re asking for is a fair and reasonable fee for the service we provide, a fee the covers the actual cost of providing care to ensure the service is sustainable and will be there for future generations.”

A Welsh government spokesperson told Caring Times: “We hugely value social care and the significant increase in the 2023-24 local government settlement shows our commitment to meeting some of the pressures care providers face. In addition, we have invested £70 million to ensure all social care workers continue to get paid at least the Real Living Wage and an extra £43 million to help ensure fair wages for social care workers. We will continue to work with the sector to recruit more staff and improve terms and conditions for all those working in this important area.

“We are also developing a National Framework for Commissioning Care and Support to support good practice across Wales. This aims to ensure greater consistency in the way local authorities and health boards commission care and support.

“Local authorities have the statutory responsibility to meet people’s social care needs. How they deliver this is determined by each local authority not the Welsh government.”