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North Wales Live
07-08-2025
- General
- North Wales Live
Council's £2m care package for single child 'should be investigated'
Calls have been made for an inquiry into the 'eye-watering' £2m a year fee a North Wales council is paying for the care of a single child. At a meeting last month, Denbighshire Council's chief executive Graham Boase revealed the authority is paying £35K a week in care bills for just one child – and the figure was later revised to £37.5K a week. Consequently, the huge sum means the council is paying nearly £2m a year for the child, who has significant disabilities, complex behaviour needs, and requires 24-hour care. Mr Boase revealed the figure whilst attempting to explain the financial strain the authority was under, describing social care costs not seen by the public. But the revelation has now led to Care Forum Wales writing to the Auditor General for Wales, Adrian Crompton. The 'social care champions' want the Auditor General to investigate the £2m bill for the child. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. Care Forum Wales says it is concerned the huge bill represents inequality within a social care system, claiming care providers looking after older, vulnerable people have to battle for funding from local councils. The organisation is concerned that whilst Denbighshire Council pays £37,500 a week for the care of one child, the authority pays just '£774 a week to fund residential care for an older person in the county'. Care Forum Wales chair Mario Kreft MBE said: 'There needs to be an inquiry into this, based on the inequality on how we fund older people's services. I think the Auditor General who's the head of Audit Wales needs to scrutinise this thoroughly with a proper inquiry so we can get to the bottom of this. And I think it's about the court of public opinion as well. I think the public needs to understand what's going on with this. 'Denbighshire are notoriously poor payers when it comes to funding adult social care. In fact, they are just about the lowest of the low. My question to the council would be have they done a cost of care review on this placement for this child, as they would for an older person, because none of us can get our heads around how it can possibly be £2m a year.' He added: 'That figure is totally extraordinary, so you're asking who signed it off and on what basis. How can that figure possibly be correct? It's an eye-watering sum of money. The bigger question is the inequality around this, the imbalance in the system. It's a council which wants to reduce fees all the time, always looking to penny-pinch.' Mr Kreft runs the Pendine Park Care Organisation, one of the biggest and most successful care home groups in the region. In the last financial year it posted gross profits of just over £11m. A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council commented: 'All packages of care for children or young people in Denbighshire are reviewed in line with the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and associated codes of practice and regulations, with all packages of support signed off by the head of children's services, who bases their decision on the assessment of need presented by the case holding social worker. 'Every six weeks all high-cost children's placements are reviewed by our review panel, chaired by the head of children's services, with relevant service and team managers and (the) finance officer. The council has received a Freedom of Information request from Care Forum Wales on this particular case and will be responding with more detail through that formal process.' The council spokesman said that the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 placed a duty on local authorities to assess and meet the eligible needs of both children and their carers. He added: 'The child in question has very complex needs which means that a high level of expert care is required in order to safeguard the child's welfare. The authority cannot provide any further information as this will potentially identify the child concerned.' The spokesman went on to explain that every council has different annual funding settlements from Welsh Government, without addressing the fact that Denbighshire has enjoyed the highest percentage rise in North Wales in 2024 and 2025 alone. 'Each local authority has a different funding settlement and therefore must strike a very delicate balance of navigating challenging financial constraints and ensuring that we are maintaining a sustainable future for the care sector in Denbighshire. The cost of this care package has had no bearing on the setting of care fees for care providers in adult services,' he said. 'In determining our care fees each year, we undertake a consultation with care providers and for 2025 / 2026 Denbighshire invested in Care Cubed (a recognised care fee methodology) along with most of the other local authorities in North Wales to ensure a consistent approach across the region. Every care home provider in Denbighshire is encouraged to discuss their care fees with the local authority and using Care Cubed will work out the cost of care and agree fees. Denbighshire currently funds approximately 382 placements across 85 care homes. 'The total projected cost for older people's residential and nursing care during 2025/26 is £15.2m. With social care making up nearly a third of the average council tax bill in Denbighshire, it is vital that we take a fair and sustainable approach to funding care within Denbighshire.' Leader Cllr Jason McLellan added: 'Denbighshire County Council having to fund packages of care at this cost is very rare but reflects the very complex needs of this child, whom the authority is caring for.' Audit Wales was contacted for a comment.
Rhyl Journal
17-05-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Denbighshire chief executive earns more than six times lowest paid
At a meeting at the council's Ruthin County Hall HQ this week, councillors rubber-stamped Denbighshire 's annual pay policy statement, which outlines how much council staff are paid, including senior officers and the lowest-paid employees. The 2025/26 version included details of the latest national pay awards agreed for 2024/25, while noting that negotiations for the upcoming year were still ongoing. The policy, required under the Localism Act 2011, must be updated and published each year and confirmed the council's lowest-paid staff are expected to remain on wages above the Real Living Wage of £12 per hour. The statement compared the salary of the chief executive with that of the council's lowest-paid worker, referencing national guidance that top earners in the public sector should not receive more than 20 times the lowest salary. The chief executive position receives an incremental scale of £144,452 – £148,822 per annum for 2024/25, with no agreement on the National Pay Award for 2025/26 being in place yet. Head of corporate support services Catrin Roberts said Denbighshire's pay structure was within the limits allowed. 'An important part of the policy is to show the relationship between the remuneration of the chief executive and chief officers pay and all other employees of the council, effectively looking at how much the chief officers earn compared to the other employees,' she said. 'There is some data there that relates to the pay relativity for the council. It states that the chief executive's salary is 6.4 times the salary of the lowest paid employee for the council. 'The average chief officer is 4.4 times the lowest paid employee, and looking at average salary, it states that the chief executive salary is five times the average salary of all council employees, and that the chief officer salary is 3.4 times the average salary of employees.' She added: 'The requirement is that no public-sector manager can earn more than 20 times the lowest paid person in that particular organisation. So our figures are well within that limit.' The council has a turnover of £439 million (£396 million revenue and £43 million capital) and employs around 4,500 staff. The report states that the current chief executive, Graham Boase, has been in the position since 1 August 2021.
Wales Online
16-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Council's chief executive earns 6.4 times the salary of the lowest paid staff
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Denbighshire Council's chief executive earns more than six times the salary of the council's lowest paid member of staff, councillors heard. At a meeting at the council's Ruthin County Hall HQ this week, councillors rubber-stamped Denbighshire 's annual pay policy statement, which outlines how much council staff are paid, including senior officers and the lowest-paid employees. The 2025/26 version included details of the latest national pay awards agreed for 2024/25, while noting that negotiations for the upcoming year were still ongoing. The policy, required under the Localism Act 2011, must be updated and published each year and confirmed the council's lowest-paid staff are expected to remain on wages above the Real Living Wage of £12 per hour. The statement compared the salary of the chief executive with that of the council's lowest-paid worker, referencing national guidance that top earners in the public sector should not receive more than 20 times the lowest salary. The chief executive position receives an incremental scale of £144,452 - £148,822 per annum for 2024/25, with no agreement on the National Pay Award for 2025/26 being in place yet. Sign up for the North Wales Live newslettersent twice daily to your inbox. Head of corporate support services Catrin Roberts said Denbighshire's pay structure was within the limits allowed. 'An important part of the policy is to show the relationship between the remuneration of the chief executive and chief officers pay and all other employees of the council, effectively looking at how much the chief officers earn compared to the other employees,' she said. 'There is some data there that relates to the pay relativity for the council. It states that the chief executive's salary is 6.4 times the salary of the lowest paid employee for the council. "The average chief officer is 4.4 times the lowest paid employee, and looking at average salary, it states that the chief executive salary is five times the average salary of all council employees, and that the chief officer salary is 3.4 times the average salary of employees.' She added: 'The requirement is that no public-sector manager can earn more than 20 times the lowest paid person in that particular organisation. So our figures are well within that limit.' The council has a turnover of £439 million (£396 million revenue and £43 million capital) and employs around 4,500 staff. The report states that the current chief executive, Graham Boase, has been in the position since 1 August 2021. Public notices in your area
North Wales Live
16-05-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
Council's chief executive earns 6.4 times the salary of the lowest paid staff
Denbighshire Council's chief executive earns more than six times the salary of the council's lowest paid member of staff, councillors heard. At a meeting at the council's Ruthin County Hall HQ this week, councillors rubber-stamped Denbighshire 's annual pay policy statement, which outlines how much council staff are paid, including senior officers and the lowest-paid employees. The 2025/26 version included details of the latest national pay awards agreed for 2024/25, while noting that negotiations for the upcoming year were still ongoing. The policy, required under the Localism Act 2011, must be updated and published each year and confirmed the council's lowest-paid staff are expected to remain on wages above the Real Living Wage of £12 per hour. The statement compared the salary of the chief executive with that of the council's lowest-paid worker, referencing national guidance that top earners in the public sector should not receive more than 20 times the lowest salary. The chief executive position receives an incremental scale of £144,452 - £148,822 per annum for 2024/25, with no agreement on the National Pay Award for 2025/26 being in place yet. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. Head of corporate support services Catrin Roberts said Denbighshire's pay structure was within the limits allowed. 'An important part of the policy is to show the relationship between the remuneration of the chief executive and chief officers pay and all other employees of the council, effectively looking at how much the chief officers earn compared to the other employees,' she said. 'There is some data there that relates to the pay relativity for the council. It states that the chief executive's salary is 6.4 times the salary of the lowest paid employee for the council. "The average chief officer is 4.4 times the lowest paid employee, and looking at average salary, it states that the chief executive salary is five times the average salary of all council employees, and that the chief officer salary is 3.4 times the average salary of employees.' She added: 'The requirement is that no public-sector manager can earn more than 20 times the lowest paid person in that particular organisation. So our figures are well within that limit.' The council has a turnover of £439 million (£396 million revenue and £43 million capital) and employs around 4,500 staff. The report states that the current chief executive, Graham Boase, has been in the position since 1 August 2021.
