Latest news with #SteveMorphew
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Norfolk County Council's care home plan 'complete shambles'
A council will struggle to find providers to take over its care homes, an opposition leader has Norfolk County Council has said it was looking for other parties to run 17 homes currently managed by the private company it owns, Norse Labour's Steve Morphew said the situation was "a complete shambles" and accused both the council and Norse of failing to properly invest in the council said three of the sites run by Norse had "received significant investment", but more was needed to modernise other homes. The authority said it was "seeking to secure investment to support the transformation of its care estate in Norfolk to meet residents' needs both now and in the future". A report for the council's cabinet said, with Norse's contract coming to an end next March, the authority had begun testing the waters with other report said the level of interest was "very positive" with some parties looking at taking on all the homes, and others only some. But Morphew repeated previous concerns raised over a lack of investment in the homes and said "nobody is going to want to take over the whole of that contract all at once"."It will be broken up – some of it will be sold off. "The residential care provision from the county council as we've known it for decades will come to an end, there will be a fire sale to get rid of the liabilities,""It's a thoroughgoing mess, a complete shambles," he Leader Andrew Jamieson said three homes had been modernised since the Norse contract began in 2011, but further work was stalled by the Covid said interest rate increases after that made borrowing to fund improvements too expensive, but deals with new providers could lead to investment."We must keep pace with Norfolk's increasingly complex care needs and the expiry of this contract in March 2026 gives us a fresh opportunity to look at how we do that," he council said it was also looking for other providers to take over Norse's contract for housing with care services – which ends next March – and its contract for independent living services, which ends in October 2027.A spokeswoman for Norse Care said the firm had been investing in the modernisation and safety requirements of its homes."Over £20 million has been invested in the development of two new care homes and major refurbishment work on two further homes," she added. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Labour says council and care firm failed to invest
An opposition councillor said a Norfolk council and its main care home contractor have failed to invest in upgrading facilities. Steve Morphew, the Labour group leader on Norfolk County Council (NCC), claimed Norse Care homes are under capacity and losing money. He said a lack of investment in wet room bathrooms meant residents and families were choosing alternative accommodation, which he blamed for Norse Care's decision to announce the closure of four homes since August. Norfolk County Council and Norse Care, which is a division of Norse - a company wholly-owned by NCC, said they have invested in the care home sector but admitted funding is an ongoing challenge. Mr Morphew told BBC Radio Norfolk: "My concern is that the relationship between Norse as a wholly-owned company [of NCC] which claims commercial confidentiality as a private company, is talking to NCC behind closed doors. "So there's no transparency on what we pretty much know and can work out from published documents, is that all of the homes that are run by Norse that are owned by the county council are threatened with closure in the next couple of years as the contract with Norse and the county council runs out. He added: "Norse might say they have become unviable. The reason they have become unviable is because neither Norse nor the county council have invested in bringing them up to scratch. "What's happened is they've become unattractive [to residents] as a result of not having modern facilities like wet rooms, so nobody wants to go in there, so they are carrying vacancies which means they are losing money." Mr Morphew said the council could have borrowed money to invest at low interest rates, and he cited improvements at Norfolk County Hall and the construction of a new car park being carried out on borrowed funds. He added: "Now, the county council could have borrowed money and lent it to Norse, or Norse could have borrowed or raised the amount that they're getting to do something about it, but they haven't. "Now these homes are being closed by stealth and it's proving difficult to bring it into the public light so there can be proper scrutiny." An NCC spokesperson said: "Norfolk County Council has continued to invest into the Care Market in Norfolk, with £76.4 million in fee uplifts over the past three years. "However, we recognise that the sector is struggling to keep pace with escalating costs and rising demand. "We've been working alongside Care England, the National Care Association and the Home Care Association to assess and understand the situation and raise our concerns in the right places. "The National Insurance changes and lack of funding received by Norfolk County Council from central government to support providers with these costs, is an issue for the whole Care Market. "We have undertaken market analysis to understand the risk to providers and this has identified that small and medium providers are most at risk of ongoing financial viability issues. "We will continue to lobby Government for fair funding for Norfolk in response to this." Norse did not directly address Mr Morphew's comments about a lack of investment in facilities, or the expiration of its contract with NCC in 2026. In a statement, it said: "Norse Care are fully committed to providing high-quality residential care that meets the evolving needs of our communities. "As care demands change, we are working tirelessly to ensure services remain sustainable, modern, and fit for the future. "Any decision to close a care home is taken only after careful consideration, with the wellbeing of residents and families at the heart of the process. "The transformation of care provision is essential to meet rising expectations and provide the best possible environments for those who need them. "We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure Norfolk's care services evolve in a way that prioritises dignity, quality, and long-term sustainability." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Care homes could close due to fire rules - owner Council care home closure is fourth in a year Care home facing £1.2m loss to close down
