North Wales councils accused of operating ‘fee-fixing’ cartel
Councils in North Wales have been accused of operated a “fee-fixing cartel” by social care champions Care Forum Wales (CFW).
CFW chair, Mario Kreft, said it was clear Flintshire, Ynys Mon, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham local authorities, which pay the lowest rates for residential care in Wales, were operating a “fee-fixing cartel” because five of the six were paying exactly the same weekly amount of £711.83.
Kreft said there was a growing North-South divide in care home fees in Wales with residents in the North being treated with “utter contempt”.
He said Denbighshire County Council was “the lowest of the low” for also refusing to hand out free PPE even though it was being paid for by the Welsh government.
A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “In 2023/24, Denbighshire County Council accepted the indicative care fee rates that were agreed by the Regional Care Fees Group consisting of the six local authorities and the health board. We also continued to offer providers the opportunity to enter in to an ‘open book’ discussion with us if they could evidence that our indicative fee did not cover their specific costs.”
The council said it had decided not to provide PPE because the government had only secured funding for its provision and not covered additional storage and distribution costs.
A Cyngor Gwynedd spokesperson said: “We work with all north Wales local authorities and representatives of the care sector, including Care Forum Wales, to follow Welsh government guidance to agree care home fees. It is disappointing to hear of the Care Forum’s colourful claims regarding this transparent and open process and the attempt to present a complex and sensitive matter in the form of a crude ‘league table’.
“As a council, we are dedicated to delivering the best possible care and support for the county’s most vulnerable people and note that residential placements are only one part of the care market and that other aspects demand greater fees.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “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.
“We are 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. However we recognise the challenging impacts of the current financial pressures that are being felt across our whole health and care system.
“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.”
Residential care home fees, 2023-24
| Rating | Region | Local Authority | Weekly Fee |
| 1 | Cardiff & Vale | Cardiff | £912.29 |
| 2 | Gwent | Torfaen | £862.84 |
| 3 | West Wales | Ceredigion | £827.00 |
| 4 | Cardiff &Vale | Vale of Glamorgan | £820.50 |
| 5 | Gwent | Blaenau Gwent | £814.00 |
| 6 | Gwent | Newport* | £806.20 |
| 7 | West Wales | Pembrokeshire | £805.30 |
| 8 | Gwent | Monmouthshire | £805.00 |
| 9 | Swansea Bay | Swansea | £800.00 |
| 10 | Gwent | Caerphilly | £798.93 |
| 11 | West Wales | Carmarthenshire | £797.92 |
| 12 | Cwm Taf Morgannwg | Merthyr Tydfil | £794.00 |
| 13 | Swansea Bay | Neath Port Talbot | £792.00 |
| 14 | Powys | Powys | £778.00 |
| 15 | Cwm Taf Morgannwg | Bridgend | £775.00 |
| 16 | Cwm Taf Morgannwg | Rhondda Cynon Taf | £772.00 |
| 17 | North Wales | Flintshire | £727.55 |
| 18-22 | North Wales | Ynys Mon | £711.83 |
| North Wales | Conwy | £711.83 | |
| North Wales | Denbighshire | £711.83 | |
| North Wales | Gwynedd | £711.83 | |
| North Wales | Wrexham | £711.83 | |
| All Wales average | £800.02 | ||
| Annual difference between highest and lowest per resident | £10,432.92 | ||
| Annual difference for a 50-bed care home | £521,646.00 | ||
Source: Care Forum Wales.
