National Care Home Contract – Negotiation Group
Note of Mtg – Wednesday 14th October 2009
Present:Ron Culley (COSLA)
Stuart Johnston (COSLA)
Vicki Bibby (COSLA)
Tom Barrie (ADSW)
Marie McGinley (ADSW)
Lynn Brown (GlasgowCity Council, Director of Finance)
Teague McFadden (Glasgow City Council)
Ranald Mair (Scottish Care)
Kenny Valentine (Scottish Care)
Mark Wilson (Scottish Care)
Apologises:Iain Buchan (Scottish Care)
Kenny Simpson (CCPS)
Nick Kempe (ADSW)
Dorothy Cowie (Scotland Excel)
1)Ron Culley welcomed everyone to the meeting with round table introductions.
2)NCHC Settlement 2009/11 – Review of Progress
Ron opened discussions by recapping on discussions last year and stating COSLA’s current position:
a)The two year deal agreed was at the outer limit of affordability for councils but the settlement was designed to bring stability to the sector. This also allowed for a more focussed approachto driving up quality within the sector.
b)The deal was agreed at a time when the picture was a lot ‘brighter’ for local government. Council’s currently have significant financial pressures and need to reduce costs significantly.
c)COSLA wrote to Directors of Finance and Directors of Social Work for their view on the level of settlement for this year. Feedback was received from 16 councils and there was general agreement that there should be discussion about whether the proposed 2.7% uplift was appropriate in the current financial context. Nonetheless, councils are keen to protect the integrity of the national care home contract and are still dedicated to the partnership approach.
Ranald Mair advised that ‘the providers’ were equally keen to maintain partnership working around the contract and stated their position:
a)The agreement which was reached last year was extremely difficult to negotiate but it was agreed on the basis of a two year deal. Also, the agreement was designed to provide time away from the negotiating table in order to advance the work being undertaken by COSLA and the Scottish Government to reshape older people’s care.
b)Providers are not blinkered to the fact that the current financial climate is affecting councils’ budgets, and while a partnership arrangement requires that all avenues for discussionremain open, the preference of providers would be to deliver on the current deal. Scottish Care’s members have signed up to a two year package which they expect to be honoured.
3)Financial Pressures
Vicky Bibby provided a national overview of the financial pressures councils are facing. COSLA has had to reopen its spending review discussions, the result of which is a reduction of £174 million in the 2010/11 budget. Moreover, Local authorities are planning for a 12% reduction for the period 2011-2014. Lynn Brown indicated that from the perspective of having to manage a council’s finances, there is no room for manoeuvre. Councils are looking at every area of spend in order to identify efficiencies.
There was some discussion about the pressure on providers. Kenny Valentine indicated that despite low inflation in the economy, costs for care homes continue to rise. He attributes this to a general increase in the dependency levels of residents. Kenny agreed to return to the next meeting with an evidence base around the increasing level of dependency over the last year.(Action: Kenny Valentine)Ranald also asserted that providers typically pay minimum wage and do not contribute to pensions, so there is little scope for potential savings.
4)Conclusion
The Group acknowledged that any formal reopening of the settlement would require political endorsement from COSLA and endorsement from the members of Scottish Care. Prior to that, the Group agreed to explore the following options around a potential renegotiation:
i)Reducethe level of settlement and maintain the current quality targets; or
ii)Reducethe level of settlement and create more flexible quality targets; or
iii)Maintain the level of settlement but increase the quality targets.
The status quo obtains until there is any formal agreement to reopen negotiations.
The meeting closed at 1600hrs.
Next Meeting: The Group agreed to meet again in mid November.
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