Campaigners are urging Derbyshire County Council not to sell or close another threatened elderly care home after the authority’s plans to sell eight homes fell through leaving them in danger of being closed down.
The former Conservative-controlled council originally agreed to sell nine care homes while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit after it argued a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care.
But the new Reform UK council administration who took over after winning the May elections confirmed on December 15 the planned sale of eight of the nine earmarked care homes to a single provider had collapsed and the UNISON union claims the authority will be forced to shut these eight homes after the failed attempt to sell them.
Belper Together campaigners, who have opposed the council’s sale of its care homes, now fear a similar fate awaits the ninth care home – Ada Belfield care home, in Belper, – with concerns for the centre’s library and cafe after the council has also agreed to sell this home and put it up for transfer on the open market.
Di Houlden, of Belper Together, said: “It’s difficult to believe that it’ll be cheaper for the council to maintain people in private facilities.
“With no public sector provision available at an affordable price, private operators will have free rein to raise their fees ad infinitum.
“Unlike Derbyshire County Council, who are statutorily obliged to provide adult social care, private companies only objective is to make a profit, not to supply the best environment for elderly Derbyshire residents.
“And in addition to finding places for residents and funding the ever-increasing difference in fees between public and private provision, Derbyshire County Council will also have to pay for staff redundancies.”
The council’s new Reform UK administration has stated it intends for this centre to be leased to a new provider after they appointed property agent Ernest Wilson to offer the commercial lease on the facility.
Ada Belfield is currently being marketed as a going concern with the council looking to transfer this care home to a provider with a proven track record and the council aims to offer it for lease and retain the building.
The lease would cover the whole site, including the care home and library, with the leaseholder required to sub-let the library back to the county council at no cost.
The UNISON union opposed care home closures from the very start, led protests, organised public meetings and repeatedly urged the council to rethink plans it says risk uprooting vulnerable residents and breaking up experienced care teams.
Opposition Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors previously joined campaigners and concerned residents in a failed bid to stop the former Conservative council agreeing to sell the original eight care homes.
They argued the net savings of the decision were not stipulated in a relevant report and that no account was taken in the report of any possible increase in expenditure resulting from the decision.
Opposition councillors argued the decision would have a detrimental effect on some of the most vulnerable older people and the changes did not take into account an increasingly older population and what they believe is an increasing demand for residential care.
Nine Labour MPs also appealed to the former Conservative council administration in July, 2024, to reconsider its proposals to close the care homes after they claimed this could prove to be ‘devastating’ with ‘serious consequences’.
The current Reform-UK controlled council previously stated the care homes had been made available as going concerns following a public consultation into changes to the way the council now aims to provide in-house care.
It added that the focus of the council’s in-house care homes is now upon the growing number of people with dementia and their carers including long-term specialist dementia care coupled with respite day and night breaks.
The county council has stated plans are now having to be revised for the future of the original eight care homes after their planned sale fell through and it cannot be progressed further.
Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Cllr Joss Barnes, said he was devastated the hard work and negotiations failed to come to a positive conclusion and that he knows this will be extremely upsetting for residents and their families and hard-working care colleagues.
He added: “The health and wellbeing of our residents, their families and friends and our valued colleagues, is our top priority and we will continue to do everything we can to support them through this difficult time.”
The council says the current focus on its in-house care homes is based on providing wraparound care for the growing number of people with dementia and their carers alongside closer working with health partners to increase the number of community support beds to help with timely discharges from hospital.
Cllr Barnes said: “We continue to market Ada Belfield as a going concern and know the library is very important to the community and retaining control of the whole site through a lease agreement – and therefore access to it by the public – means we can keep providing a library service to the people of Belper.”
Belper Together protesters who have held protests, submitted a 5,000 name petition and lobbied the council in opposition to the sale of Ada Belfield fear residents could face future top-up fees with no upper limit to the amount charged and that changes will see the loss of 20 Community Support Beds at the home.
The campaigners who have opposed the sale of Ada Belfield in a long-running campaign have raised concerns that privatisation gives care companies the freedom to raise fees to any level they choose and the campaigners claim that nearly 90per cent of private care home residents nationally require council supplements to pay for their accommodation.
Cllr Barnes, has said that current residents will remain at the Ada Belfield care home under any new provider at no additional cost and staff will not lose their jobs because they too will move forward with any new provider.
He has also argued that by selling and or leasing the care home the council is expected to make efficiency savings and reduce its overspend.
Cllr Barnes also previously stated the council has changed the way it supports Derbyshire residents by creating specialist, efficient, effective and sustainable care to help more people stay in their own home for as long as they can.
He has also said that as part of changes the council will stop operating some of its residential care homes including Ada Belfield to enable it to focus resources on short term, specialist care for older people and those with dementia and their carers, including integrated and flexible specialist dementia day services and respite.
Cllr Barnes recently stated more people want to remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible and that’s why the council has remodelled its in-house care services to help more people to live at home by supporting them to come home from hospital and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.
He claims there is also a need for more specialist care for the growing number of people with dementia so the council has refocused its care services on dementia-specialist care homes, creating wraparound care for those with dementia, including overnight respite and day breaks to help support carers.
Green Party County Councillor, Gez Kinsella, fears the failed sale of the eight care homes and their feared closure will mean residents will have to move out and there will be job losses and this could mean a distorted market and fees could be driven up elsewhere including at the Ada Belfield care home.
Belper’s public library, which forms part of the same Ada Belfield Centre building, will be subject to a leaseback arrangement with the council on a rent-free basis, according to the council and Ernest Wilson.
Belper Together claims the council stated on multiple occasions their intention was to sell these care homes as ‘going concerns’ but they say the council has failed to deliver on its plans while arguing it has been financially unviable to keep the care homes in council ownership.
Campaigners claim they have repeatedly requested a full disclosure of Ada Belfield’s finances but they say this has never been been released to them.
Ms Houlden added: “The human cost of course is unquantifiable to both residents and staff, as well as their families and friends. And the timing couldn’t be worse.”
The eight care homes the former Conservative council agreed in November 2024 to stop operating and to sell included: Briar Close, at Borrowash; Castle Court, at Swadlincote; The Grange, at Eckington; Lacemaker Court, at Long Eaton; The Leys, at Ashbourne; New Bassett House, at Shirebrook; Rowthorne, at Swanwick; And Thomas Colledge House, at Bolsover.
Amber Valley Labour MP Linsey Farnsworth stated: “Vulnerable residents face the stress and worry of being forced to move home, not knowing where they will be living in the New Year. Families are devastated. And around 200 dedicated staff now face the prospect of losing their jobs.
“I asked the Prime Minister to join me in urging the council to think again. These closures are wrong and should be stopped.
“I’ve already met with a union representative to discuss next steps, and I will be writing to the leader of the council to demand a full rethink.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the possible planned closure of care homes in Derbyshire is ‘deeply concerning’ while the Government is making £3.7bn of extra funding available for councils to fund social care.
Mid-Derbyshire Labour MP Jonathan Davies has also said he is incredibly disappointed and concerned by the news.
