THE boss of a large Wiltshire based care provider has spoken out about the need for the Government to help solve a crisis involving the amount paid to people who sleep-in to look after elderly and disabled people.

Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of Melksham based Somerset Care Group, has spoken out in the wake of a survey compiled by the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group which assessed the impact of sleep-in pay on the future of the care sector.

It highlighted the potential rate of collapse in care services and found that 30per cent of people are likely to have their services disrupted in the next year as providers are forced to hand back contracts.

The crisis has arisen as it was found that many contracts with local authorities and clinical commissioning groups did not make it possible to pay the new National Living Wage.

Dr Townson said: "Somerset Care has paid sleep-in shifts at the National Living Wage since 2015, when HMRC guidance changed. Our decision to do so, together with ongoing action for many years to monitor and adjust wages to ensure compliance with National Living Wage, has meant we are not exposed to the risk of large amounts of back pay, as are some other providers.

"Unlike many local authorities, Wiltshire Council ensured that fee rates for work involving sleep-in shifts were adequate to cover the increase in costs when the guidance changed in 2015. We thus do not have any issues regarding sleep-in pay in Wiltshire.

"In contrast, in Dorset, we were forced to hand back a number of learning disability contracts in January 2018, because the local authority declined to recognise the change in HMRC guidance until July 2017, and fee rates were too low to cover costs. This meant we made six-figure losses each year on our learning disability contracts in Dorset and, as we could not sustain such losses, we had to terminate our contracts.

"In general, the issue of back pay for sleep-in shifts is a very serious one for the care sector, with many clients and companies likely to be adversely affected. Improved terms and conditions for care workers are desperately needed, but to ensure sustainability of the care sector, central government needs to make additional funding available to cover the cost of changes in government policy."

The survey by the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group found in general across the south west a number of care organisations were no longer biding for work with certain councils and this could lead to them struggling to provide high-quality care.

Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of the group said: "This research confirms what many of our members have been saying for the past two years. This should not only worry the Government, but also the hundreds of local authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups and community NHS services that rely on these providers to deliver such vital services for vulnerable people.

“The social care sector is facing an existential threat caused by sleep-in pay which is entirely due to unclear and changing Government guidance. Being hit with an unexpected liability for back pay is unfair to the people who rely on care, but also care workers, local authorities and providers of these crucial community services."